The Federal Communications Commission is making up to $200 million available to help schools and libraries make their computer systems more secure.
The school and library cybersecurity pilot program will be used to evaluate whether to fund this type of program on a more permanent basis. Financing will come through a pool of money called the Universal Service Fund (USF), which is made up of contributions from telecommunications companies. Schools and libraries participating in the program You will be able to reimburse things like advanced firewalls, authentication and identity protection services, malware protection and VPN.
The pilot program will be available to schools and libraries eligible for the FCC's E-rate program, another USF initiative to provide affordable Internet access. The FCC says it hopes to open the application process this fall and plans to select a mix of schools in terms of size, rural versus urban. The agency says it will put an emphasis on funding projects from low-income and tribal applicants.
