In the latest budget report, the White House has allocated $3.1 billion toward cybersecurity infrastructure. The report, published on Thursday, outlines the allocation of funds, with $145 million being designated to strengthen the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), making it more “resilient and defensible.”

The remaining budget will be split between two initiatives, with $98 million being designated for the implementation of the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2021. The remaining $425 million of the budget will be utilized to strengthen CISA’s internal cybersecurity and analytical capabilities.

The budget “bolsters cybersecurity by ensuring every agency is strengthening the security of public services to protect against foreign adversaries and secure Federal networks that the American people rely on,” according to the document.

According to Ilona Cohen, chief policy officer at security platform HackerOne, the money will be necessary to develop a more skilled and diverse cybersecurity workforce, support the migration of legacy infrastructure to modern infrastructure, and encourage the adoption of zero-trust architectures by agencies.

Cohen continued, “I think lawmakers can achieve all of the aforementioned goals and promote the adoption of best practices on vulnerability disclosure. “Identifying the most serious vulnerabilities inside our digital infrastructure and developing more resilient systems is vital for launching vulnerability disclosure programs and trusting ethical hackers.”
The CSO of API security company Traceable AI, Richard Bird, said that while the additional cyber security investments are great, it is distressing to see a reliance on antiquated ideas.

According to Bird, faster event reporting does not increase security any more than an alarm system that sounds two days after a robbery. “Instead of adopting half measures and half steps like this, it’s time for the US government to get serious about legislating real cyber security for residents and consumers in our country.”

The budget was announced days after the Biden-Harris administration’s National Cybersecurity Plan was released.