Did your computer suffer from a blue screen of death due to the global IT outage caused by an update from CrowdStrike, a popular cybersecurity provider to many enterprises around the country? Cybersecurity concerns top the list for many businesses, but actually, many local governments around the state have struggled to keep pace with cybersecurity needs. Though cybersecurity may be near the top of the list for local government administrators, often the funds simply are not available for them to make valuable impact.

Until now. As of July 22, 2024, local governments in Ohio can apply for grants of almost $30,000 to fund cybersecurity initiatives. Specifically, local governments can apply for two types of grants:

• Up to $9,500 to fund migration to “.gov” domains and
• Up to $20,000 to implement cybersecurity best practices.

The grant award process will give high priority to rural local governments. While the grants require 20% cost sharing by local governments, applicants may apply for a hardship waiver to see this cost-sharing requirement waived.

.gov Domain Migration Grant Importance

The .gov domain migration not only lends authenticity to a government website, it hardens a local government’s website presence, making it more difficult for scammers to impersonate such websites. For example, web browsers will refuse to connect to unencrypted .gov domains, and fraudulent but similar domains are harder to fake and easier to spot. The migration of all government websites to the .gov format is a national priority, with some government agencies possibly making a .gov domain a prerequisite for future funding. It is not a matter of “if” but “when” for local governments to make the switch.

Cybersecurity Software and Services Grant Importance

The $20,000 grants for adopting cybersecurity best practices are more flexible. Local governments can request money for encryption, password improvement, system backups, and critically, implementing multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication provides a critical piece of cybersecurity, protecting from more than 99% of bulk and automated phishing attacks. Local governments should have no shortage of projects on which to use these grant funds.

Applications for these grants will be accepted from July 22, 2024 through September 16, 2024 , and you can apply here.  

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