HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — About $1 million to help shore up cybersecurity will soon be available to the government of Guam through a grant program announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week.
The island will get a chunk of the $375 million worth of federal assistance that will be provided to state and territorial governments through the fiscal year 2023 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, according to FEMA.
The island recently has been the focus of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, the Post reported in June. Hackers stalled operations at the Guam Memorial Hospital and imperiled billing collections at GMH earlier this year. Docomo Pacific in March saw a shutdown of telecom services after an attack.
Microsoft identified in May that state-sponsored hackers from China had infiltrated telecom systems on island. More recently, a cybersecurity head at the National Security Agency told The New York Times that intrusions by Chinese hackers into Guam systems were “really disturbing” because of their disruptive potential.
According to FEMA, newly available funding can be used by the territory to evaluate its systems and capabilities, mitigate cyber issues, build a cybersecurity workforce or for cybersecurity planning.
Del. James Moylan touted the funding opportunity in a news release.
“We would like to thank FEMA for this additional funding opportunity as cybersecurity is the silent threat plaguing the world right now,” Moylan stated. “From data breaches to the theft of credentials and ransomware, we are optimistic that these funds will certainly assist our local government in addressing these types of breaches. With the global uncertainties being a reality, I look forward to working with my colleagues in continuing to identify funding to allow jurisdictions to enhance their security against these cybercriminals.”
James Moylan
