US Budget allocates funds to bolster federal cybersecurity, implementation of National Cybersecurity Strategy
The U.S. government released last week the Federal Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 that bolsters cybersecurity by ensuring that every agency is increasing the security of public services and working towards implementing President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14028, ‘Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity’ and the OMB Memorandum M-22-09, ‘Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles.’
“OMB and the Office of the National Cyber Director released the OMB Memorandum M-22-16, Administration Cybersecurity Priorities for the 2024 Budget, which lays out three cyber investment areas for Federal civilian executive Branch agencies: Improving the Defense and Resilience of Government Networks; Deepening Cross-Sector Collaboration in Defense of Critical Infrastructure; and Strengthening the Foundations of our Digitally-enabled Future,” according to the document, titled ‘Budget of the U.S. Government: Fiscal Year 2024.’
The document added that to advance the Administration’s commitment to making cyberspace more resilient and defensible, “the Budget provides an additional $145 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), for a total of $3.1 billion. This includes $98 million to implement the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2021 and $425 million to improve CISA’s internal cybersecurity and analytical capabilities.”
The Budget expands the DOJ’s ability to pursue cyber threats through investments that support efforts to build cyber investigative capabilities at FBI field divisions nationwide. These investments include an additional $63 million for more agents, enhanced response capabilities, and strengthened intelligence collection and analysis capabilities. These investments are in line with the National Cybersecurity Strategy that emphasizes a ‘whole-of-nation’ approach to addressing the ongoing cyber threat.
The Budget also continues to invest in cybersecurity programs to protect the nation from malicious cyber actors and cyber campaigns. These investments strengthen cyber protection standards for the defense industrial base and cybersecurity of DOD networks. The Budget provides $245 million to enhance the security of clean energy technologies and the energy supply chain. It also includes increased assistance to States, local governments, tribes, and territories for emergency planning and preparation, including for events caused by the impacts of climate change.
To assert U.S. leadership in competition with the PRC, the Budget includes $400 million for the Countering PRC Influence Fund. In addition, the Budget requests $753 million for Ukraine to continue to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience. The Budget also requests continued Foreign Military Financing loans and loan guarantee authority to ensure the availability of a financing tool to help America’s partners invest in U.S. equipment.
The Budget also provides $215 million, an increase of $115 million above the 2023 enacted level, to protect and defend sensitive agency systems and information, including those designated as high-value assets. The government increases centralized funding to strengthen the Treasury’s overall cybersecurity efforts and continue the implementation of a zero-trust architecture. These investments would protect Treasury systems from future attacks.
“The threats facing the homeland are more diverse and complex than they were twenty years ago when the Department of Homeland Security was first created. The President’s Budget seeks to protect the security of the American people amidst a very dynamic threat environment,” Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “This budget invests in programs that protect us against the threat of terrorism here and from abroad, strengthen the security of our borders, ensure the swift response to and recovery from natural disasters, and so much more. It equips our Department to address the threats of today and prepare for the threats of tomorrow.”
The budget announcement comes days after the Biden-Harris administration rolled out its National Cybersecurity Strategy, which identifies a deep and enduring collaboration among stakeholders across the nation’s digital ecosystem. The move serves as a foundation for making a path to resilience in cyberspace more inherently defensible, resilient, and aligned with the country’s values. It also imposes additional mandates on organizations that control the majority of the nation’s digital infrastructure, with an enhanced government role in upsetting hackers and state-sponsored entities.
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