Lawmakers have taken notice. As part of the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure proposal, Senate negotiators have included cybersecurity investments, reflecting the heightened sense that computer attacks could devastate entire communities. The bill would authorize nearly $2 billion in spending for cybersecurity initiatives, including a $1 billion grant program to provide federal cybersecurity assistance to state and local governments, which experts say are among the most vulnerable institutions to ransomware attacks, in which hackers break into computer systems and then demand a ransom to restore access to the victim.

Source: Washington Post August 18, 2021 13:03 UTC