Millions of dollars in funding from the Covid-19 relief bill passed Wednesday will be used to help the federal government improve its cybersecurity efforts in the wake of high-profile breaches that have caused alarm for officials and lawmakers.
“[I]t reflects a recognition by this administration of the urgency of improving cybersecurity,” said Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency cyber chief Eric Goldstein, adding that it will provide funding ahead of the next budget cycle, given the current threats facing federal networks.
Goldstein, a top political appointee, said the funding stems from the fact that federal agencies are providing services either “directly or indirectly related to our country’s ability to recover from the pandemic.”
In an interview with CNN, he also pointed to increased remote work during the pandemic, which has created a reliance on cloud computing, which therefore increases the need for security tools.
Congress included $650 million in the Covid relief bill for CISA’s cybersecurity risk management programs.
Some background: CISA, a Department of Homeland Security agency that was founded during the Trump administration, is dealing with the…
