White House’s state infrastructure cybersecurity initiative stalled

Three months after the Trump administration announced a plan to help states fund cybersecurity defenses for their critical infrastructure, half of the states say they haven’t heard anything from the White House about participating in the program.

National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said in early March that the federal government would launch a pilot program for states to accelerate the deployment of security technology at critical infrastructure facilities. He described the goal as “finding solutions at cost and an ability to scale that meet the moment and the threat,” adding that the administration was already working with Texas on its water sector, and with South Dakota on its beef industry.

With a significant enough infusion of federal dollars, the pilot program could transform how cash-strapped state and local governments work with the operators of power grids, hospitals, railways and other vital infrastructure to fend off malicious hackers intent on sowing chaos.

Read more at Cybersecurity Dive