New Florida budget proposal moves to rescind $40M in cyber funding

StateScoop reports that Florida lawmakers have been mulling to return $40 million in funding meant to advance state and local entities' cybersecurity defenses to the state's general fund. Such funding, which is part of the state's Local Government Cybersecurity Grant, has been crucial in bolstering cyber resilience and critical infrastructure security, according to City of Cocoa, Florida Chief Technology Officer Robert Beach, who warned against the proposed budget cut. "The potential discontinuation of this partnership poses significant challenges, as it would impact our capacity to maintain these critical programs at their current level," said Beach, who is also part of the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association's board of directors. While no details on the reasoning behind the reduced cybersecurity spending were provided, such a development follows an ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware attack against the state's court system in October, as well as a phishing incident at Fort Lauderdale the month before.