Cybersecurity Health Check Program (Massachusetts)

Cybersecurity Health Check Program (Massachusetts) is sponsored by Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS). This program provides local governments in Massachusetts with basic cybersecurity services at no cost to help discover, assess, and identify cybersecurity gaps. Similar to the IT Best Practice Program, universities could explore partnerships to support these initiatives.

Massachusetts Invests $1M in Cyber Grants for Schools, Cities For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers. Massachusetts Invests $1M in Cyber Grants for Schools, Cities The Cybersecurity Remediation Grant Program, announced Tuesday, is an initiative to fund upgrades and governance improvements across Massachusetts’ public sector, looking to close cybersecurity gaps.

Massachusetts is investing $1 million to help municipalities and school districts remediate cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified through state-sponsored assessments. Gov. Maura Healey announced Tuesday that the state’s new Cybersecurity Remediation Grant Program will help at least 20 cities, towns and schools act on cybersecurity risks discovered through the Cybersecurity Health Check Program.

The initiative is led by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) in partnership with the Community Compact Cabinet (CCC). “Cybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated and continue to evolve, and every community deserves the tools needed to protect public systems and sensitive data information,” Gov. Healey said in a news release.

“This investment will help municipalities and schools modernize their technology infrastructure, strengthen their defenses against cyberattacks and better protect the people they serve. ” Individual projects range from $6,000 or $8,000, up to about $100,000. Projects include infrastructure modernization, Active Directory reviews, network architecture assessments, policy development and strategic consulting services.

A significant portion of funding will go toward hardware replacement. EOTSS leads the project, and there is more than one team involved. The CCC, the technology office’s partner, was created just more than a decade ago to increase collaboration and communication between local government and the state administration.

The cabinet has historically offered an IT grant and a municipal fiber grant program. Meanwhile, “health checks” are facilitated through the Office of Municipal and School Technology , while contracted vendors do the assessments. There is no cost to be assessed, and the goal is to help identify vulnerabilities and existing protections, as well as gain an understanding of potential infrastructure risk.

The remediation grants will enable entities to “move from assessment to action,” as there wasn’t funding previously attached to the assessments, according to EOTSS. The programming will help establish a framework for future statewide cybersecurity planning by identifying recurring needs.

Long-term strategies such as shared cybersecurity services, standardized security baselines, coordinated procurement efforts and regionalized support models will also be considered. “Cybersecurity resilience starts with strong foundational infrastructure and risk management,” said state CIO Jason Snyder in the release.

“This program demonstrates the value of combining cybersecurity assessments with targeted remediation funding to help communities address their most pressing vulnerabilities. ” Massachusetts Cybersecurity K-12 Local Government State Government Education See More Stories by News Staff OpenAI, MS-ISAC Launch AI Cyber Defense Pilot Rural Health Funds to Help Fuel Cybersecurity, Tech Winona County, Minn.

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