Federal Cybersecurity Budget Request Rises to $28 Billion for FY2027

The President's FY2027 budget request includes $28 billion in federal cybersecurity spending — a 22 percent increase over FY2026 enacted levels. The request reflects the administration's characterization of cybersecurity as a national security investment rather than a discretionary IT cost.

Major budget allocations include $8.4 billion for Zero Trust Architecture implementation across civilian agencies, $4.2 billion for CISA operations and threat intelligence capabilities, $3.1 billion for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program's third phase, and $1.8 billion specifically designated for cybersecurity workforce development.

The $1.8 billion workforce development allocation is the largest federal cybersecurity training budget request in history, reflecting Congressional findings that technical controls alone are insufficient without a trained workforce capable of implementing and maintaining them.

The workforce development allocation covers federal civilian employees, contracting personnel with system access, and the pipeline development programs targeting HBCUs and community colleges announced earlier in the year.

CISA has indicated that a portion of the workforce development allocation will fund interagency training programs through established platforms, and that GovAcademy's GSA-scheduled course catalog is positioned as a primary delivery vehicle for agency training funded through the appropriation.

The budget request also includes $340 million for CISA's expanded Cybersecurity Shared Services program, which will make threat intelligence, incident response support, and security operations capabilities available to small and medium federal agencies.

Congressional reception has been generally bipartisan, with both Armed Services Committees and Homeland Security Committees expressing support for the workforce development allocation.