House subcommittee approves $334 million funding bump for CISA

The House Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee on Thursday approved a budget of $2.9 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), $417 million higher than the White House’s original budget request for the agency and $334 million above its fiscal 2022 allotment.

“Among the biggest threats to our national security is the threat of cyberattacks and intrusions,” said Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) in her opening statement. 

“As our world moves increasingly online and threats to our democracy grow, this bill responds by protecting our critical cyber infrastructure and communications systems with dramatically increased funding,” she added. 

The funding will be allocated into various categories, including cybersecurity, infrastructure security, emergency communications and risk management, among others. 

Over the last few years, CISA has seen an increase in funding each year as the government has expanded its investment in cybersecurity across various sectors. 

For instance, the Department of Energy announced in April that it would invest $12 million in cybersecurity innovations intended to protect critical infrastructure, including the energy sector.

The investment would fund six university-led projects that will focus on the research, development and demonstrations of new cyber technology.

The agency also concurrently introduced legislation that would create a grant within the Department of Energy that would fund graduate students and postdoctoral researchers studying cybersecurity and energy infrastructure. 

The war in Ukraine has also expedited investments in cybersecurity as the U.S., and other Western countries have warned against Russian cyberattacks.