On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security approved Washington State's Cybersecurity Plan, a key requirement for the state to receive an anticipated $3.6 million in grant funds during the coming year.
The federal funding is aimed at addressing cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems owned or operated by state, local, and territorial governments. The state Cybersecurity Plan addresses 16 federal requirements, including implementing multi-factor authentication, requiring encryption for data at rest and in transit, and eliminating unsupported software and hardware accessible from the Internet.
The Washington State Military Department Emergency Management Division (EMD) and Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) have partnered to oversee the grant process and jointly worked on the cybersecurity plan with local government representatives. EMD will administer and manage the grant and any allocated pass-through awards. WaTech is responsible for the plan development and approval of projects.
"I want to thank everyone involved in developing the Cybersecurity Plan," State Chief Information Security Officer Ralph Johnson said. "Massive effort went into its development, and I'm proud of the plan we produced. I believe it will significantly enhance the state's overall cybersecurity posture."
The federal government must conduct a budget worksheet review of all submitted projects from the states before releasing grant funds.