The $1 trillion Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law in November 2021, provides significant provisions for organizations to invest in cybersecurity and cyber resiliency. The dramatic increase in federal dollars devoted to cybersecurity in the U.S. promises to have a huge impact in areas such as energy, safety and healthcare.
This influx of money makes it essential for decision-makers to use solutions that can help them achieve secure and resilient deployments across on-premises, edge and multicloud environments. It is important to look for solutions that leverage existing skill sets, take advantage of automation, provide consumption-based as-a-service options and limit risk through highly resilient, intrinsically secure hybrid cloud solutions.
Government Commitment to Cybersecurity
The IIJA is part of a broad government approach on cybersecurity, incorporating both public and private entities, according to law firm McDermott Will & Emery. Notable cybersecurity appropriations include:
- $250 million to develop advanced cybersecurity applications and technologies in the energy sector.
- $20 million per year between 2022 and 2028 to help private and public entities respond to cyber incidents.
- $157.5 million to the Department of Homeland Security to fund critical infrastructure security and resilience research, development, test and evaluation. See related article: Cyber Security for Critical Infrastructure.
Specific requirements must be met to receive federal funds. For example, applicants must describe how they plan to handle a comprehensive list of cybersecurity-related control measures, including:
- Implementing a process of continuous cybersecurity vulnerability assessments and threat mitigation practices.
- Using best practices and methodologies to enhance cybersecurity, such as those in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) See related article: 5 Key Elements of a Modern Cybersecurity Framework.
- Assessing and mitigating to the greatest degree possible cybersecurity risks and threats related to critical infrastructure.
What to Look for in a Cyber-Resilient Portfolio
If your organization is potentially eligible for funds, you want to make sure it is mitigating any gaps in security and data protection to improve your chances of your application being approved. This includes adhering to best practices in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ensuring continuous threat prevention and mitigation across your entire environment, from data center to edge to multiple clouds.
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Find a Path From Idea to Outcome With Dell Technologies Services
Choosing the right cybersecurity technology partners is key. You want proven solutions that offer modern capabilities such as secure cloud architecture, zero trust, agile cloud-native development tools, and built-in data protection and cyber recovery. With Dell Technologies and VMware, you get end-to-end cyber-resilient solutions and services that position you to build a solid cybersecurity plan to take advantage of federal funding and deliver added value to your customers, workers, constituents and communities. Key technologies and benefits include:
- VMware Cloud on Dell Technologies to deliver unparalleled consistency between on-premises and public cloud environments, allowing security and development teams to focus on a common set of tooling.
- A complete end-to-end portfolio of intrinsic security capabilities, including continuous threat vulnerability detection and response, advanced endpoint protection, and services for managed security, detection and response.
- Extensive use of automation to simplify deployments and ensure that security protections and processes are capable of scaling in pace with the growth of users and applications.
- Advanced cloud data protection solutions that simplify compliance and governance, while mitigating the potential impact of a disaster and minimizing risk of data loss or crippling downtime.
Taking the Next Step
Is your organization eligible to take advantage of the U.S. government’s expansive commitment to investing in cybersecurity? Please contact Dell Technologies to learn how the company’s portfolio of cyber-resilient solutions and services can help you secure your environment from data center to edge to cloud.
