The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first announced the program in late 2022, funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to enable investments in cybersecurity at local levels. The feds distributed some $1 billion to states with cyber planning and committees in place.
Texas received about $40 million to spend from 2022 to 2025, with matching funds required each year. The governor's office is the official state administrative agency for the grants, which means applicants should apply via the governor’s eGrants website.
While applications must go through the governor’s office, the Texas Department of Information Services (DIR) serves as the subject matter expert for the program and has posted an in-depth but simple-to-follow webpage outlining how the program operates.
One goal of the program is for local governments and entities to implement best practices in cybersecurity. Projects helping to implement these practices will be prioritized, according to the DIR website.
As part of the federal dispersal, the state needed to have in place a cybersecurity planning committee, create a cybersecurity plan and submit a spending plan. The planning addresses several goals intended to bring governments up to a base-level cyber posture, such as getting all state and local entities to use multifactor authentication, .gov domains and data encryption, according to a 2023 Government Technology article.*
Local governments may include:
- Cities, towns or townships
- Counties
- Municipalities
- Local public authorities
- School districts and community colleges
- Special districts
Objectives of the funding include that governments:
- Develop and establish appropriate cybersecurity planning and governance
- Understand cybersecurity posture and areas needing improvement
- Implement protections appropriate to risk
- Enhance workforce development
* Government Technology is part of e.Republic, Industry Insider — Texas’ parent company.
