DHS nominee Kristi Noem stood alone for rejecting department cyber grants to state, local governments

But the South Dakota governor has touted cybersecurity as her state’s “next big industry” and signed cyber legislation into law.

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Facebook calls for cybersecurity research proposals as part of new grant program

Facebook plans to accept research proposals for security projects from the public in the coming months, looking for improvements that focus on abuse detection, anti-phishing, password authentication and user safety. Alex Stamos, Facebook’s chief security officer, announced Monday the company will be accepting submissions through a new granted-based initiative titled “Secure the Internet Grants.” The social media giant told CyberScoop that they do not have “a set number of recipients” in mind for the program. A spokesperson further clarified that, when going through the decision making process, they will be “focused on the practical impact it could have on end users.” The company will hand out up to $100,000 per accepted proposal for future development. Awarded recipients will be offered these grant awards during a planned presentation at Black Hat USA 2018 in Las Vegas. Phishing scams on Facebook have earned headlines in past years.  In 2016, thousands of users […]

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Bill would launch cybersecurity grant program for state and local governments

Proposed legislation establishing a Department of Homeland Security grant program that would bolster cybersecurity for state and local government IT networks faces a steep climb in Congress, but its backers say the need is urgent. “There’s an acknowledgement that this is a real problem …[and that] things could get worse … As [former Defense Secretary] Leon Panetta has observed, we’re at something of a pre-9/11 point in cyber,” said Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., a co-sponsor of the State Cyber Resiliency Act, HR 1344. His GOP co-sponsor is Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock. An identical companion bill in the Senate, S. 516, is sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo. Cyber threats “aren’t aimed at red districts or blue districts — all of our communities are vulnerable … There is an obvious need and I hope that makes it more likely that this bill could move,” Kilmer told CyberScoop in an […]

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DOE tries to spur development of defenses against Ukraine-style electrical grid cyberattack

The Department of Energy doled out $4 million in grant funding earlier this month to four different cybersecurity firms in an effort to spur the development of new technology that can help protect U.S. electricity delivery systems from hackers. The move comes just three months after a complex cyberattack aimed at Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo […]

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