Security News > 2021 > August > U.S. Infrastructure Bill Allocates $2 Billion to Cybersecurity
U.S. senators recently unveiled the finalized version of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which the White House says will allocate roughly $2 billion to improving the country's cybersecurity capabilities.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes funding for roads, bridges, transportation safety, public transit, railways, electric vehicle infrastructure, airports, ports, waterways, broadband internet, environmental remediation, and power infrastructure.
The White House said this week that the bill will also invest approximately $2 billion to "Modernize and secure federal, state, and local IT and networks; protect critical infrastructure and utilities; and support public or private entities as they respond to and recover from significant cyberattacks and breaches."
The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, as described in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, authorizes $200 million for 2022, $400 million for 2023, $300 million for 2024, and $100 million for 2025, totaling $1 billion.
Cyber threats and the need to address them are also mentioned a number of times in the sections dedicated to water infrastructure and drinking water, including the Clean Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program, for which $25 million have been allocated for every year until 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency plays a role in the implementation and execution of many of these initiatives.