The White House is requesting millions of dollars in emergency funding that would be dedicated to shoring up national cybersecurity, The Washington Post reported March 7.
On March 2, the White House sent a request to Congress asking for additional funds to fight both the COVID-19 pandemic and support for Ukraine. The package in total is split between $10 billion in aid for Ukraine and $23.5 billion for additional COVID-19 spending.
In the request, cybersecurity was featured prominently including requests for:
- $1.25 billion to the Department of Defense for cybersecurity, intelligence and other defense support, which would include accelerating cyber capabilities.
- $21 million for the Department of Commerce to bolster export controls for dual use technology. This funding would help the U.S. analyze technological infrastructure and information sharing vulnerabilities.
- $40.2 million to support cyber, counterintelligence, and cryptocurrency tools for the FBI.
- $1 million for Justice Department attorneys to work on cases related to Ukrainian and Russian sanctions, export control and cyber cases.