The government shutdown and Congress’s failure to reauthorize the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 15) have put cyber defenses at risk, cybersecurity experts are warning, saying the pressure is now on state and local governments and industry members.

New York State is making $13.9 million in federal grant funding available to help local governments improve their cybersecurity infrastructure – but instead of issuing checks, the state will procure the cybersecurity tools directly.

Nine state and local government organizations are asking congressional leadership to reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), warning that without continued funding through the program, security systems across the nation will falter. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on August 1 that it is offering $103.8 million of grant funding to state, local, and tribal governments to “strengthen community cybersecurity.”

The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) is up for reauthorization this year, and cybersecurity experts testified before Congress on Tuesday to explain that the program is working but may need some tweaks to make it more effective.

State, local, and territorial (SLT) governments are in line to receive $279.9 million in grant funding in fiscal year (FY) 2024 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) according to an agency announcement on Sept. 23.  

State officials said this week that they are balancing centralized and decentralized distribution approaches as they try to put money from the Federal government’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) to work for them.