Mississippi school districts that wish to strengthen their cybersecurity practices and combat increasing cyber threats can apply for funds from the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security (MOHS) Cybersecurity Grant Program by Nov. 30, 2023. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) encourages all district leaders to strongly consider participation.
Public school districts, along with other local government agencies, are a particular focus of this program.
MOHS is offering cybersecurity assessments to assist local entities and seeks to strengthen the cybersecurity practices and reliance of the state’s public entities. Districts that apply for and receive an assessment will receive a customized explanation of their existing cybersecurity gaps, risks and vulnerabilities. MOHS will help participating school districts do the following:
- Accurately understand their current cybersecurity standing
- Identify opportunities for improvement through testing, evaluation, and assessments
- Implement protections appropriate for the identified and potential future risks
- Establish organizational training plans and priorities
- Develop, implement an revise cybersecurity plans
- Improve incident response capabilities and ensure continuation of operations in case of incidents
- Develop and establish additional governance structures, as appropriate
Any districts wishing to receive cybersecurity services and/or benefits of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, and future funding opportunities, should go to the Homeland Security-State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) web page by the deadline of Nov. 30.
For more information about the grant program, please contact the MOHS office at (601) 987-1278 or mohsgrants@dps.ms.gov.
School districts that have questions for MDE regarding cybersecurity guidance should contact Wade Grant, MDE’s Information Security and Data Privacy Officer, at wgrant@mdek12.org.