Trump 2019 Budget Boosts Cyber Spending But Cuts Research

Evan Vucci/AP

The budget also moves DHS cyber research out of the science and tech division.

President Donald Trump’s 2019 fiscal year budget request boosts cybersecurity funding by about 4 percent across the government, including significant hikes at the Homeland Security Department and Pentagon.

The overall increase includes even larger cyber funding spikes at key agencies, including a 23 percent jump at the Energy Department, a 33 percent jump at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a 16 percent hike at the Veterans Affairs Department.

The budget, however, includes a massive cut of 18 percent to the government’s main cyber standards organization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology. That cut comes as NIST is working on an update to its cybersecurity framework, which is now mandatory for all federal agencies.

The budget also marks a major shift for cyber research and development funding inside the Homeland Security Department.

Cyber research was formerly housed primarily in the department’s Science and Technology Directorate. Going forward, that funding, which totals $41 million in the president’s budget request, will be inside the cyber and infrastructure protection division—called the National Protection and Programs Directorate, or NPPD.

The move is another blow for the Science and Technology Directorate, which has faced significant budget cuts since the start of the Trump administration.

The shift was made so “operators on the ground have influence over research and development,” a senior administration official said during a press call. The cyber and infrastructure protection division will work closely with the science and technology division on research priorities, the official said.

The budget also calls for a small spike in governmentwide information technology spending.

The president’s budget request is as much an ideological document as a budgeting one. The request lays out the executive branches’ funding priorities, but those numbers are only a rough starting point when Congress begins its own budgeting process and they’re often ignored entirely.

Funding Hikes at Homeland Security and Defense

Homeland Security cyber spending overall will stay roughly flat at about $1.72 billion.

The cyber division of the department’s cyber and infrastructure protection wing, however, will get a 7 percent spike from $665 million in the 2018 fiscal year to $712 million this year.

In addition to protecting federal civilian government computer networks, that division is also helping states secure their election systems against cyberattacks.

The budget includes $238 million for Homeland Security’s continuous diagnostics and mitigation program, which delivers a suite of cybersecurity tools to federal agencies and will eventually track federal computer systems on a governmentwide dashboard. That’s down from $279 million in last year’s request.

The budget commits $407 million for a governmentwide intrusion detection program called Einstein. That’s up from $397 million in last year’s request.

At the Pentagon, total cyber funding jumps to $8.5 billion in this year’s request, a 4.2 percent hike over the prior year.

That jump comes as U.S. Cyber Command, which was elevated last year to a unified combatant command, is in the process of reaching full operational capability.

The budget released Monday also:

  • Includes $8 million for the White House Office of Management and Budget’s cybersecurity oversight responsibilities, down from $19 million last year.
  • Includes $25 million for a cybersecurity enhancements account at the Treasury Department, which will help upgrade high-value Treasury computer systems that rely on outdated technology. The fund will also help the department respond more nimbly to cyber incidents. Overall cyber funding at Treasury will drop from about $529 million last year to $500 this year.
  • Raises funding for the Justice Department’s national security division, which prosecutes cyber crimes, from $95 million to $101 million. Overall Justice Department cyber funding is at $721 million, up from $704 million last year but down from $735 during the final year of the Obama administration.
  • Includes $10 million for cyber upgrades at the Transportation Department.
  • Hikes Veterans Affairs Department cyber funding 16 percent from $360 million last year to $418 million this year.
  • Raises cyber funding at the Office of Personnel Management 18 percent, from about $39 million to about $46 million.
  • Hikes Nuclear Regulatory Commission cyber funding 33 percent, from about $24 million to about $32 million.
  • Hikes Energy Department cyber funding 23 percent, from about $379 million to about $465 million.
X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.