Biden administration seeks money to bolster Ukraine war

There's money in the request for direct aid to Ukraine, but also things like more enforcement of U.S. sanctions.

The Biden administration is requesting additional funds from Congress to help Ukraine with its digital defenses, strengthen cybersecurity in Europe and enhance U.S. capabilities to respond to the fallout from the Russian invasion.

The overall fiscal 2022 supplemental request, sent to Capitol Hill this week, seeks $10 billion in Ukraine-related needs and $22.5 billion in funding related to COVID-19.

Among the bigger pots of cybersecurity-focused funding the administration is requesting is $1.25 billion for the Defense Department to assist Ukraine with support on “operational surges across multiple national defense components, including accelerated cyber capabilities, weapons systems upgrades, increased intelligence support, and classified programs.”

A $1.75 billion request for the State Department to provide economic aid to Ukraine includes support for “continuity of government” and resilience work, including cybersecurity and efforts to counter disinformation. Other funds sought for Ukraine assistance include Department of Energy money to evaluate cybersecurity needs for connecting Ukraine’s electricity grid to Europe’s transmission system.

The supplemental spending blueprint amounts to a continuation and expansion of assistance the U.S. government has sent to the region in recent weeks and months as Ukraine has endured a range of cyberattacks accompanying the lead-up to, and subsequent actual, Russian offensive.

Some of the funding request is more regionally-focused, such as hundreds of millions that the Air Force and DOD are collectively soliciting “for cybersecurity and weapon systems upgrades required for the European theater of operations.”

Other pockets of cash would be focused on how the U.S. government is itself combatting different ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Justice Department, for instance, is requesting $28 million “for cyber activities including enhancements necessary to bolster the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) investigative and operational response to cyber threats stemming from the Russia threat and war on Ukraine.” The money would pay for things like “exploitation operations” from teams that provide digital forensic services, hardware and software upgrades as well as contract linguists, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

DOJ is also seeking $1 million for four attorney positions to handle Ukraine and Russia-related sanctions, export control and cyber cases.

Still other pockets of the request aren’t tied explicitly to Russia or Ukraine at all. DOJ is seeking nearly $10 million for personnel in its Criminal Division, at least partially to support cybercrime and ransomware cases.

The Navy, Air Force and DOD are, together, seeking nearly $150 million “for artificial intelligence-algorithm development, cybersecurity, and other information technology requirements.” The Treasury Department is asking for $17 million that, among other things, would support “monitoring of sanctions’ impacts on the domestic and global economy and cybersecurity enhancements to protect Treasury systems from targeted attacks.”

Open-source security is posing challenges governments can’t easily solve

A diffuse landscape, fruitful targets, companies not stepping up, AI’s influence and flagging U.S. government efforts all figure into a shifting threat.

Trump budget proposal would slash more than 1,000 CISA jobs

Biden’s budget proposal seeks funding boost for cybersecurity

Government

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

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

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

• 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

• 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

• Dogged Russia-based botnet dismantled after 23-year run

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