Whole-of-State Participant Information

Minnesota's Whole-of-State Cybersecurity Plan incorporates the required elements for the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), which the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act created. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) administer this grant program; MNIT and the Cybersecurity Task Force implement it in Minnesota.

The Cybersecurity Plan gives eligible entities the framework that Minnesota will use to provide the tools, resources, and information they need to help secure the data that Minnesotans have entrusted to their organization. This page includes information about how eligible entities can participate in funding opportunities and apply for discounted services through the Whole-of-State Plan.

Get involved

This grant program, while not required, is an opportunity for local governments and eligible entities to follow cybersecurity best practices and collaboratively implement tools that elevate their current level of cybersecurity readiness. By participating, entities can mature their cyber capabilities, plan and prepare for cyber incidents, and help keep Minnesota's and Minnesotans' data secure. Take steps today:

1. Read the participant guide:   Whole-of-State Plan Participant Guide (PDF)
2. Fill out the SLCGP survey to apply and show your interest:   SLCGP survey
3. Review the SLCGP Frequently Asked Questions for more information:   SLCGP FAQs

Security solutions

Coming soon: Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is an advanced antivirus solution that takes your computer’s security to the next level. MDR tools can look at the bigger picture, all that your computer is running, and identify attacks that try to sneak past other security tools. Specifically, it looks for the types of attacks that could lead to data breaches, ransomware, or other major events if not detected and blocked.

What we want to accomplish

The whole-of-state approach uses SLCGP funding to protect Minnesotans by advancing stronger, sustainable cybersecurity tools and processes that leverage best practices, build on past successes, meet every organization where they are, and educate and freely share information. This continued security modernization effort will allow us to collectively:

• Discover our collective statewide cybersecurity strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats so they can be addressed.
• Analyze what we learn, to identify appropriate solutions.
• Meet participants where they are in their cybersecurity maturity, and provide security products and services that will help expand statewide security endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities.
• Grow the Minnesota cybersecurity community to work together under the .gov domain, collaborate, and share technology and information about industry changes and the State of Minnesota-specific security observations, including collaboration with the Minnesota National Guard. This community will be served by an expanded Cyber Navigator Program that assigns security experts to each participating organization to help with their efforts.
• Establish a shared plan that encourages participants to adopt sustainable and evolutionary systems.
• Continue to build up security capabilities to form a foundation for automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to keep the modernized infrastructure hardened.