Trump budget: FBI would get an extra $61M to fight cybercrime and break encryption

President Donald Trump’s budget blueprint for the federal government includes a proposed $1.5 billion for the Homeland Security Department to protect federal networks and critical infrastructure from hackers and another $61 million for the FBI and Justice Department to track terrorist communications and combat cybercriminals.

President Donald Trump’s budget blueprint for the federal government proposes a $61 million increase for the FBI and Justice Department in fiscal 2018 to better track terrorist communications and combat cybercriminals.

“The FBI would devote resources toward its world-class cadre of special agents and intelligence analysts, as well as invest $61 million more to fight terrorism and combat foreign intelligence and cyber threats and address public safety and national security risks that result from malicious actors’ use of encrypted products and services,” the blueprint states.

The FBI is one of the few agencies that would see significant increases under the budget, which emphasizes national security and law enforcement. The Environmental Protection Agency and State Department, for example, would see drastic cuts.

Trump’s proposed plan is designed to effectively increase the FBI’s overall funding by a total of $249 million, or 3 percent, above the current 2017 budget. Beyond cyber operations, a majority of the fresh funding would be provided to help law enforcement investigate and prosecute drug traffickers.

The fiscal 2018 plan broadly calls for greater cooperation between the public and private sectors when it comes to cyber-defenses and information-sharing of threat intelligence through the Homeland Security Department. A total of $1.5 billion is proposed for the Homeland Security Department to protect federal networks and critical infrastructure from hackers. Trump’s blueprint did not break down how that number would compare to current spending.

“Through a suite of advanced cybersecurity tools and more assertive defense of government networks, DHS would share more cybersecurity incident information with other federal agencies and the private sector, leading to faster responses to cybersecurity attacks directed at federal networks and critical infrastructure,” says the budget, which the White House sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday.

The budget does not include a specific, categorized, top-line spending figure for federal cybersecurity improvement programs. As with most budgets release at the beginning of a presidency, its primary function is to signal the White House’s policy priorities.

Under the plan, the Defense Department would receive a $50 billion boost to ensure U.S. military superiority in all major warfare domains, including cyberspace. Another $7.2 billion is allocated for operations and maintenance cost at the Pentagon, which would include supporting the deployment of unnamed cyber capabilities, according to a White House memo.

News of the budget, and more specifically its attempts to fund several cybersecurity-focused initiatives, follows just a day after White House homeland security adviser Thomas Bossert told a crowd of academics, journalists and diplomats that Trump planned to strengthen U.S. cybersecurity.

Bossert, who spoke Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said “Federal networks at this point can no longer sustain themselves. We cannot tolerate indefensible technology, antiquated … hardware and software.”

“President Trump intends to put his money where his mouth is,” Bossert said.

FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

The remarks, to both CyberScoop and at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit, dovetail with the release of a new bureau cyber strategy.

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Government

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

• Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

Technology

• European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

Threats

• Chinese espionage groups swarm to exploit triple-link chain of zero-days

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Russian national extradited to US for alleged involvement in bank-account takeover scheme

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure