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BOSTON â The Healey administration is making millions of dollars in federal funding available to cities and towns to harden their computer systems against hacks and attacks by cyber criminals.
The Municipal Local Cybersecurity Grant Program has $7.2 million available cities and towns, regional school districts and other local governments. Applicants can request up to $100,000 in funding, while multiple municipalities may jointly apply for up to $300,000, officials said.
Another $1.8 million is available through the State Share Cybersecurity Grant Program with local governments able to request up to $100,000 in federal funding.
Overall, $9.1 million is available for the competitive grants, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 8, the agency said.
Gov. Maura Healey said the federal funding will provide state and local agencies âwith resources to effectively respond to and recover from a cyber-incident.â
âCybersecurity threats continue to increase in sophistication and frequency. In this ever-changing digital world, we must implement smart cybersecurity strategies and adapt our systems to meet the moment,â she said in a statement.
The federal dollars will be provided through the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant program, which is overseen by the federal Department of Homeland Securityâs Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Terrence Reidy, secretary of the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said the stateâs embrace of advanced technology âhas vastly improved the governmentâs ability to deliver more effective and efficient servicesâ but has also âexposed our operational systems and sensitive data to significant risk.â
âI encourage eligible entities to pursue this funding opportunity and strengthen our collective defense against evolving digital threats,â he said in a statement.
Massachusetts cities and towns are under constant threat from hackers probing for weaknesses in computer systems, intent on stealing money and personal information, and cybersecurity experts say the attacks are getting worse.
Attacks range from malware, ransomware and email phishing scams, to old-fashioned cons using the internet to trick people.
Many perpetrators operate from overseas, with ties to rogue nations and criminal gangs, making it hard to catch them.
The FBIâs Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 800,944 suspected internet crimes last year. Reported losses exceeded $10.2 billion.
Topping the list of crimes were âphishingâ scams, nonpayment/non-delivery scams and internet-based extortion, the agency said.
There were 7,805 victims of cybercrimes in Massachusetts last year, with losses topping $226 million. Many of those victims were elderly, the FBI said.
Cities and towns have been facing an uptick in ransomware, which involves hackers encrypting a local government or schoolâs networks until a ransom is paid.
A 2023 report by the firm Sophos found that nearly seven in 10 IT leaders at local and state governments said they have faced ransomware attacks in the last year. Most of those attacks started either through unpatched systems or stolen passwords, the reportâs authors noted.
âIn every conversation I have with a municipal leader, cybersecurity is a top concern, but they either do not have the dedicated personnel or funding to implement the most impactful best practices,â Jason Snyder, secretary of the Office of Technology Services and Security, said in a statement.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com
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By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter
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