Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced today that Indiana was one of the first states awarded funding from the federal government’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) to support statewide cybersecurity programs. The first round of local projects that support cybersecurity improvements were approved to receive a portion of a $20 million grant program that Indiana was awarded in 2022.
"The State of Indiana is doing its due diligence to maintain the highest level of cyber security necessary to protect Hoosier data,” Gov. Holcomb said. “Indiana is committed to leading the way by improving its cybersecurity posture and protecting our critical digital infrastructure.”
The Indiana Office of Technology and its partner, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, which respectively chair and co-chair, Indiana’s SLCGP Committee, have received federal approval for the state and local cybersecurity plan, and are actively working to implement the strategy.
The federal government created the SLCGP program through the Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act (2021)and tasked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to deliver the appropriated financial assistance to state and local governments to help them improve their cybersecurity posture.
Indiana's SLCGP Planning Committee, comprised of staff from state and local government, higher education and related association partners, voted to support the first round of projects to purchase cybersecurity protection for communities around the state.
This project is the first of many steps already taken to help reduce cyberattacks and protect Indiana's digital services.
At Gov. Holcomb’s direction in prioritizing cybersecurity statewide, IOT has been traveling the state meeting with community leaders to learn about the landscape of cybersecurity resources and policies in local government, participating in nearly 100 listening sessions or conferences. IOT is leading an increased effort to partner state and local resources to jointly improve cybersecurity across all levels of government through policies and free or discounted services. Examples include cybersecurity risk assessments, cybersecurity awareness training, hosted websites, secure email and office productivity suite.
Hundreds of local governments are already taking advantage of these services, providing immense value for Hoosier taxpayers. Through the no-cost cybersecurity awareness training for local government staff, IOT has provided more than $500,000 in value for local government.
To keep local government informed about new programs or SLCGP funding opportunities, IOT hosts a monthly townhall. Details on the townhall meetings, as well as additional cybersecurity and digital government tools are available at https://www.in.gov/iot/local-