Finance

As affordable cyber insurance becomes more elusive, experts are reminding governments that insurance is only one piece of the puzzle and urging them to focus first on investing in cyber defenses.

The majority of the federal funds, around $11.2 billion, will go to the Defense Department, while $2.9 billion will go to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to bolster U.S. cyber defenses.

Industry experts point out several concerns regarding the use of digital currencies for campaign donations. The issues of transparency, market volatility and a lack of regulations are among the key concerns.

Local government agencies like Houston METRO look to make wise use of funding coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to strengthen existing assets while innovating for the future.

Promise, which focuses on delinquent payments, has selected Paya as a partner as both companies try to help governments collect what they’re owed. Such debt grew significantly during the pandemic as citizens lost income.

A $100,000 emergency procurement package – containing two vendor agreements – was unanimously passed this week to mitigate a “network security incident” that affected 85 county computers.

The Detroit City Council has delayed action on a proposed expansion of the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system. The proposed expansion would cost $7.5 million with an additional $1.5 million to renew the existing contract.

Federal cybersecurity grants are expected “in the coming months,” with CISA still mulling feedback and finalizing. Local governments should use the time to ensure they’re part of any state planning processes.

The recent bipartisan infrastructure bill was massive, allocating $1.2 trillion to a wide variety of projects. To help people find the work they’re interested in, McKinsey has released a new free tool.

As insurance costs and requirements rise, some municipalities are looking to self-insurance and service providers’ cyber incident warranties to help in cases of ransomware and other incidents.

The money will be used by the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab to update equipment, buy rapid DNA identification technology, and improve the hardware and software used in the lab, as well as adding robotic systems where possible.

The cloud-based software provider to public agencies launched in 2016 and now sells tools for procurement, budgeting, permitting and other government tasks. The deal values GTY at $363 million, according to one source.

Research has found that 21 members of Congress or members of their immediate family have bought and sold about $1.8 million in crypto-related investments. Does this pattern represent something unethical at play?

Bitcoin mining consumes so much power that it threatens to prevent the state of New York from achieving its 2040 environmental goals. Can the state achieve greater prosperity without curtailing its emission standards?

In addition to the Paycheck Protection Program rip-offs, fraudsters have used synthetic identities in many unemployment benefit null, leaving states scrambling to try to recoup the erroneous payments.

Maine's county and city governments received a total of $191 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, but the majority of the money hasn't been spent. Officials say they're deliberately sitting on the money.

Although the dollar amounts were down relative to last year's blockbuster deals, the number of transactions has remained high with activity from Avolve, NEOGOV, RapidSOS, ClearGov, Tyler Technologies and more.

A rule from the 2017 Trump administration tax cut could, however unintentionally, discourage certain organizations from applying for federal broadband grants and leave the most remote U.S. populations disconnected.