U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer are calling on federal officials to boost cybersecurity funding for New York and other states that could be targets of Russian retaliation as tensions rise over the country's invasion of Ukraine. 

The lawmakers on Wednesday in a letter to top lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee called for boosting funding to aid New York against potential cyber attacks. The letter comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul has backed additional money in her $216 billion budget plan to bolster cybersecurity at the state level as well as for local governments that have been targeted by hackers. 

“Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and our allies have leveled severe sanctions against Russia, which has increased the risk of retaliatory cyber attacks, particularly against New York State infrastructure and individuals,” Gillibrand said. “It is critical that we boost funding to protect New York State and the country from cyber threats from Russia. The United States must act quickly to strengthen our cyber defenses to meet this unwarranted and unprovoked Russian aggression.”

The lawmakers in particular on focusing on the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center as an example of how cybersecurity efforts can be coordinated at the federal, state and local government. 

“Protecting our government, our businesses, critical infrastructure, and our utilities from cyberattack has assumed even greater importance with Putin’s unjustified aggression in Ukraine and recklessly threatening cyberattacks throughout the world,” Schumer said. “That’s why we are pushing for increased funding to the Center for Internet Security’s Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) – a New York based national leader in building cybersecurity resilience and coordination between federal, state, and local entities.”