Federal agencies have released the FY 23 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program (TCGP). All 574 federally recognized tribal governments are invited to apply before the deadline of Jan. 10, 2024.
Like the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, the TCGP was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is overseen by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency. The TCGP has been longer in coming, and the funds originally intended for FY 22 and FY 23 have been combined to make the $18.2 million pool, per CISA.
The TCGP is intended to fuel several goals, per the announcement and NOFO. Those include helping tribes create cyber governance and planning, in part through revising and adopting cybersecurity plans; getting better understandings of their cyber postures, vulnerabilities and needed capabilities; adopting mitigation and security protections suited to their risks and building out the cyber workforce as well as ensuring personnel receive appropriate cyber training.
“We know that tribes face unique cybersecurity challenges and often lack the resources needed to address them,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly in a statement emailed to press.
Applicants this year must develop a cybersecurity planning committee to help them develop or revise a cybersecurity plan, and they must also identify projects the funds would help them take on, per the NOFO.
