The state of Washington, and more specifically, the University of Washington are getting a funding boost from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) for its cybersecurity research program. The $412,000 grant will go toward launching a research effort to develop the state’s Public Regional Information Security Event Management (PRISEM) System.
The PRISEM system is designed to help spot cyber threats in public agencies. The university already has a cybersecurity research program and the grant will go to support PRISEM development within that program. Washington state is looking to build out phase two of the PRISEM system.
PRISEM has been funded for the past six years through grants from the state. For phase two, Washington wants to switch to a user fee model where community anchor institutions would pay a fee for monitoring.
The university has also said it plans to use part of its share of the money to develop a program specifically for Veterans who are looking to enter cybersecurity fields and are seeking education.
The newly released 2014 Digital States Survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government gave Washington an overall grade of B+, up from a C- in 2012, making Washington state one of the most improved states. Projects like this will further that effort. Only Idaho and Connecticut posted larger improvements. The biennial survey benchmarks state government’s use of digital technologies to improve service delivery, increase capacity, change cost structures and reach policy goals.
