The Latest Funding News and What it Means for Cyber Security in 2023

The White House has recently announced a $1 billion cyber
security grant program that is designed to help state and local
governments improve their cyber defenses, especially about
protecting critical infrastructure. The recent executive order^[1]
stems from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that was signed
almost a year ago. That bill allocated $1 billion for protecting critical infrastructure against
cyber-attack^[2] in the wake of a series
of high-profile ransomware attacks such as the one that brought
down the Colonial Pipeline.

Those government agencies who wish to take advantage of these
funding opportunities must submit a grant proposal by mid-November.
Proposals are only being accepted for the sixty days following the
program’s announcement.

Grant recipients can use the funding to invest in new
cybersecurity initiatives or to make improvements to existing
defenses. Awardees are guaranteed to receive a minimum of $2
million. However, the program’s requirements stipulate that 80% of
the funding must be invested in local or rural communities.
Additionally, recipients are required to distribute at least 3% of
funds received to tribal governments.

Although companies in the private sector are not eligible for
these grants, the private sector will likely see an indirect
benefit. The fact that governments are placing an increased focus
on cyber security will surely help IT security teams because of the
attention that it will bring to the seriousness of addressing cyber
security threats.

This national attention, in turn, should make it easier for IT
security teams to get their budgets approved.

Securing your own IT security budgets for 2023

Getting funding for IT initiatives can be tricky in even the
best of circumstances. The current economic recession would
ordinarily make it all but impossible for IT security teams to get
funding for new security initiatives, barring some sort of
disaster. However, the emphasis that the federal government is
currently placing on cyber security may give IT pros the
opportunity they need to have a frank discussion about security
within their organization, which may ultimately lead to getting
security projects funded.

Here are six basic steps IT pros can use^[3] to improve their odds of
receiving the funding that they need:

Step One: Outline the problem

The first step involves demonstrating to higher-ups that your
project is intended to protect against a credible threat. Recent
headlines can help to provide the evidence that you need and gives
you the chance to make the case that if the government is taking
cybersecurity threats seriously, then your organization should too.
Besides, if the government is stepping up its cyber defenses, then
attackers may be inclined to move on to softer targets, such as
businesses that are still relying on legacy security tools.

Step Two: Prove your point

This leads to the second step outlined in the article, which is
to use data to your advantage. This might mean citing recent
cybercrime statistics or using the available security tools to
gather statistics from your own organization, highlighting the
problem that you are trying to solve.

Step Three: Present a solution

Next, you’ll want to highlight what your proposed solution would
do. It’s one thing to demonstrate that a security problem is real,
but you also need to be prepared to explain how your intended
solution will fix the problem.

Step Four: Set the date

Step 4 is all about creating an implementation schedule. Those
who are tasked with managing an organization’s finances are almost
always concerned about return on investment. In other words, how
long is it going to take for a newly acquired product to provide
enough of a benefit to offset its cost. You need to demonstrate
that your proposed solution’s cost is justified and that it will be
implemented and provide a return on investment in a reasonable
amount of time. This also keeps your entire stakeholder team
accountable to the agreed-upon timeframe.

Step Five: Show them the money

In this approval process, you’ll need to demonstrate estimated
savings for the company. Yes, your new security tool might protect
an organization from catastrophic financial loss due to a
ransomware attack or a regulatory violation, but it’s important to
show savings in other ways too. For example, will adopting a new
tool reduce the number of overtime hours that the IT department
works?

Step Six: Bring the research

Finally, you’ll want to show that you have looked at competing
solutions and prepared a price comparison. It’s okay if your
proposed solution is not the cheapest option. Just make sure that
you can rationalize why you are not recommending the least
expensive option.

Prove the need for IT Security Budget with data

Of course, before you can even begin seeking funding for an
enhanced cybersecurity defense, you need to show how your
organization could potentially be at risk for a cyber-attack. Since
many such attacks target the Active Directory, you might begin your
data-gathering efforts by using Specops Password Auditor to scan your
Active Directory^[4]
for password vulnerabilities.

This free, read-only tool can help you detect passwords that do
not adhere to your password policy or to, compliance requirements
or industry best practices. More importantly, you can find out
which users are using passwords that are known to have been leaked
from a database of over 875 million, making those
accounts vulnerable because their passwords are available for
purchase on the dark Web.

Specops Password Auditor is just one of the countless free
security tools that are available online, but it is a great place
to start because it does a good job of detecting real security
vulnerabilities that exist right now within your own
organization.

Get a leg up on IT security funding in 2023 and test out Specops Password Auditor in your
Active Directory today^[5].