Baker-Polito Administration Announces the Commonwealth’s First-Ever Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program Awards

Baker-Polito Administration Announces the Commonwealth’s First-Ever Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program Awards

42,000 employees from 94 municipalities and public school districts will receive cybersecurity awareness training to better detect and avoid cyber threats

WORCESTER– Today, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Secretary of Technology Services and Security Curt Wood joined legislative, municipal and public school officials to announce $250,000 in grants awarded to 94 municipalities and public school districts across the Commonwealth to provide critical cybersecurity awareness training for over 42,000 employees to better detect and avoid cyber threats. Lt. Governor Polito addressed the group of award recipients at Worcester City Hall to mark the end of October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Employees in communities participating in the program will receive interactive online training in topics ranging from email security to USB device safety. Employees will also receive simulated phishing emails. Phishing is a growing threat in local government in which an attacker seeks to influence the employee to take an action that may be harmful to the organization, by masquerading as a trusted entity.

“Raising awareness of the challenges posed by cyber threats is an important strategy for the Commonwealth’s communities to best train and equip its employees with the tools needed to defend against cyber threats,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are pleased to collaborate with our partners in local government to understand how we can better protect our communities.” 

“Cybersecurity is a critical issue for Massachusetts communities and schools who face cybersecurity threats but sometimes lack the resources to prepare for and combat them,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “These first-ever cybersecurity grant funds are a crucial tool to complement the over $9 million in funding for municipal IT infrastructure projects through the Community Compact program in providing Massachusetts communities and schools the resources and tools they need to combat cyber threats.”

The grant funding was included, in part in the Fiscal Year 2019 operating budget passed by the Legislature and matched by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security to ensure as many communities and schools could participate in the cybersecurity training as possible.

In June 2017, Governor Baker filed legislation through the Article 87 government restructuring process under the Massachusetts Constitution to establish the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security as the cabinet-level lead information technology organization in the Executive Branch.

The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security began deployment of annualized cybersecurity awareness training for Executive Branch employees to better detect and mitigate cyber threats at the state level in 2018. The training will be enhanced year-over-year to account for evolving trends in cyber threats.

In April 2019, Governor Baker filed a $1.1 billion bond bill that includes $600 million in information technology (IT) infrastructure funding. $140 million of the funds are dedicated to further enhance the cybersecurity of the Commonwealth’s digital assets including the standing up of a new Security Operations Center.

“Cyberattacks are an emerging and increasing threat to communities across the Commonwealth and the nation,” said Secretary of Technology Services and Security Curt Wood. “By strengthening our communities’ cybersecurity posture, we are preparing municipal and school employees to better detect and defend against cyber threats.”

“Failure to proactively defend against cybersecurity threats in today’s digital world puts both the city and its residents at risk,” said Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus. “This is why training city staff to follow best practices and to be vigilant in the prevention of online attacks is so critical. We are grateful that the State is taking this issue seriously and we will continue to work together to keep our community safe.”

“In the wake of growing concerns relative to data privacy, security and increased threats, we are taking action to improve the Commonwealth’s preparedness within the cyber space,” said Senator Michael O. Moore (D-Millbury), who served as Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Cyber Security Readiness.  “These efforts complement a national conversation and need for resources to support cybersecurity readiness.  I commend the Administration for taking an active role in working to better prepare our schools and municipalities for these very real threats.”

Applicant	Organization(s)	Employees to Receive Cyber Training
Abington Public Schools	School only	250
Acton-Boxborough Regional School District	School only	900
Town of Agawam	Town only	225
City of Amesbury and Amesbury Public Schools	Town and School	550
Town of Amherst	Town only	370
Town of Ashland and Ashland Public Schools	Town and School	600
Town of Auburn	Town only	150
Town of Bedford and Bedford Public Schools	Town and School	647
Belmont Public Schools	School only	450
Town of Berlin	Town only	226
Town of Boylston	Town only	292
Town of Braintree and Braintree Public Schools	Town and School	1000
Town of Brewster	Town only	160
Town of Bridgewater	Town only	175
Town of Burlington and Burlington Public Schools	Town and School	800
Town of Carlisle and Carlisle Public Schools	Town and School	25
Town of Carver and Carver Public Schools	Town and School	300
Southern Worcester County Regional School District	School only	218
City of Chelsea and Chelsea Public Schools	Town and School	1200
Town of Danvers and Danvers Public Schools	Town and School	925
Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School	School only	20
Dedham-Westwood Water District	Town only	15
Frontier Regional and Union 38 School Districts	School only	5
Town of Eastham	Town only	75
Town of Easton	Town only	150
Town of Edgartown	Town only	100
Framingham Public Schools	School only	1600
City of Gloucester	Town only	345
Town of Granby and Granby Public Schools	Town and School	200
Greenfield Public Schools	School only	53
Town of Halifax	Town only	100
South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School District	School only	100
Town of Holbrook and Holbrook Public Schools	Town and School	150
Town of Holden	Town only	173
Town of Holliston and Holliston Public Schools	Town and School	112
Town of Hopkinton and Hopkinton Public Schools	Town and School	120
Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District	School only	400
Town of Lancaster	Town only	94
City of Leominster and Leominster Public Schools	Town and School	1554
Town of Leverett	Town only	150
Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District	School only	164
Lincoln Public Schools