The White House unveiled President Joe Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2023 on Monday, and cybersecurity appears to be a top priority, with significant spending increases over the previous year.
The president’s budget request includes approximately $10.9 billion for civilian cybersecurity-related activities, an 11 percent increase over 2022.
A sizable portion of that sum, $2.5 billion, has been designated for the DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). This is nearly $500 million higher than the previous year.
The funding will be used to help improve the protection of federal infrastructure and service delivery against sophisticated cyber threats, including “maintaining critical cybersecurity capabilities implemented in the American Rescue Plan; expanding network protection throughout the Federal executive Branch; and bolstering support capabilities, such as cloud business applications, enhanced analytics, and stakeholder engagement.”
The budget should also assist the National Cyber Director’s Office in improving “national coordination in the face of escalating cyber-attacks on government and critical infrastructure.” Furthermore, funds have been set aside to improve election safety and security, as well as to establish public-private partnerships.
The proposed budget for cybersecurity funding for fiscal year 2023 includes $215 million (a $197 million increase). A further $10 million is set aside to “build and strengthen the national cybersecurity workforce pipeline.” In addition, $36 million is budgeted for ICT supply chain security. The White House intends to give Ukraine $682 million in order to “counter Russian malign influence.” The industry applauds increased cyber spending. According to Mariano Nunez, CEO of Onapsis, prioritising the modernization of ageing technology stacks will be critical to mitigating rising cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
