Applications sought for Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program

Applications are now being accepted for the Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program, which promotes overall cybersecurity posture through end-user training, evaluation and threat simulation.

The application period opened on Oct. 29 and will close on Dec. 17 or when all available seats are taken, whichever occurs first. The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security will announce grants in mid-December.

The program is open to municipalities and public school districts with government-issued email addresses. The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security manages the program, including procurement and coordination.

Participating communities must demonstrate leadership buy-in, have a commitment of staff to successfully complete the program, and be willing to collaborate with EOTSS in the administration of the program (approximately two hours per week).

Feedback about the program has resulted in some additional options, with the goal of offering tracks to best serve participating organizations.

• Year-Long Training: This has been the staple training track, and will run from January through December 2022.

• Set-Your-Timeline Training: This track delivers all of the content at once, so the organization can set the timeline for users to complete training.

• Abbreviated Training: This shortened version of the Year-Long Training will take place from January through May, which may make it the best option for schools.

Participating organizations must identify a local coordinator to work in partnership with their staff and the Commonwealth and to coordinate necessary interaction with a local IT resource when needed.

Organizations without government-issued email addresses that are interested in obtaining a dot.gov domain may contact EOTSS at omst@mass.gov.

On Oct. 26, the EOTSS recognized 34 Cyber Aware Communities that participated in this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program. (View the recognition ceremony, MC’d by Secretary Curtis Wood.)

Also in October, the MassCyberCenter released new online training materials to help local leaders implement cybersecurity best practices and attain a “minimum baseline of cybersecurity” to protect digital assets and information against cyberattack threats.