LIVE OAK, Fla. (WTXL) — Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez was in Live Oak Thursday promoting the Florida Local Government Cybersecurity Grant Program.
The $30 million program will give local governments access to state cybersecurity resources like asset discovery and inventory, 24/7 monitoring, email security and more.
"These grants will give local jurisdictions the ability to access industry leading capabilities it provide ways to better bolster their local cybersecurity infrastructure," Lt. Governor Nuñez said.
Jamie Grant, Florida's Chief Information Officer, said the program would help remediate problems before they happen. His office is hoping to bring that to every local office in Florida.
"To allow every willing partner to come in and join the effort to have a safe cybersecurity operation center capable of detecting and routing threats before that bomb goes off before it's too late," Grant said.
Greg Scott, Suwanee County Administrator, said the county is ready to get involved in the program.
"Between the clerks office staff, the sheriff's office staff, and our county staff does a tremendous job. We'll collaborate together we'll probably as a county administration write the grants on behalf of everyone and have different partners join us," Scott explained.
Grant says once county governments become part of the program, the state will not have constant access to files. The only time they would have access is if a threat occurs in an office.
"We've proven you can maintain the privacy and autonomy of your operation by also having world class cybersecurity capabilities," Grant said. "We have a team that wants to support you 24/7 365 the same way that we're supporting at the state level."
There have already been nearly 80 applications from more than 30 local government entities across the state.
The application for the grant is still open until March 31.
