Cybersecurity Nonprofits Form
“Nonprofit Cyber” Coalition

Nonprofits that focus on action and tangible results to more effectively collaborate and coordinate to increase efficiency and impact globally

New York – February 23, 2022: The world’s leading implementation-focused nonprofit cybersecurity organizations today launched Nonprofit Cyber, a first-of-its-kind coalition of global nonprofit organizations to enhance joint action to improve cybersecurity. All coalition members are nonprofits that were formed to serve the public interest by developing, sharing, deploying, and increasing the awareness of cybersecurity best practices, tools, standards, and services. 

“I applaud that this consummate consortium of nonprofits has formed to actively protect us against security threats to our digital infrastructure and uphold our open internet, combining their knowledge, skills, and tools for the greatest effect,” said Govind Shivkumar, director of responsible technology at Omidyar Network.

Nonprofit Cyber will initially focus on two priorities: building awareness of the work of cybersecurity nonprofits globally and aligning their work to achieve the greatest effect. Envisioned as a “collaboration-of-equals,” each member organization has committed to work in coordination to better serve Internet users globally. Coalition members must be a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) nonprofit if organized under U.S. law or hold an equivalent status if organized under the laws of another country. More information is available at the coalition’s website NonprofitCyber.org.

The founding members of Nonprofit Cyber are the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), the Center for Internet Security (CIS), the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), Consumer Reports, CREST International (CREST), the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI), the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), OWASP, SAFECode, and Sightline Security. These members will initially constitute the Executive Committee, and  have asked Tony Sager of CIS and Philip Reitinger of GCA to serve as co-chairs as the organization begins operations. 

Nonprofit Cyber welcomes applications for new members that work to implement best practices and solutions at scale. Nonprofit Cyber is focused on these organizations, rather than lobbying or policy development and advocacy organizations, or industry associations. Information on joining Nonprofit Cyber can be found at its website.

“A large number of nonprofits that focus on cybersecurity implementation are working within their own areas of action toward the joint goal of improving cybersecurity, but the lack of coordination and communication among them can lead to inefficiency and duplication of effort.” said Philip Reitinger, President and CEO of the GCA and incoming co-chair of Nonprofit Cyber. “Better communication and collaboration among these groups will enable programmatic and opportunistic action to improve cybersecurity.”

“Cybersecurity non-profits create and sustain essential resources that touch every enterprise and every person.  And many are natural ‘integration engines,’ bringing together people and ideas across the public and private sectors, technical disciplines, industry sectors, and national borders.” said Tony Sager, Senior Vice President and Chief Evangelist for CIS, and incoming co-chair of Nonprofit Cyber. “Our goal with Nonprofit Cyber is to collaboratively align our individual strengths into a collective force for good, taking positive action for the entire cyber ecosystem”

“With the unprecedented rise in cyber crimes associated with greater use of technology during the pandemic, the need for expert support for users to defend themselves has never been greater,” said Kelly Born, Director of the Cyber Initiative at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. “There are great nonprofits working to support cyber defense, and too often their efforts go uncoordinated due to lack of resources. Nonprofit Cyber is a much needed step in the right direction of enabling greater collaboration in this critical field.”

“Everyone must be able to protect themselves, their family, and their businesses from cyber threats. Nonprofits play a critical role in ensuring that is possible, filling the gaps between what governments and companies do,” said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and head of Craig Newmark Philanthropies. “Aligning the activity of these organizations is an important step toward protecting society and human rights.”

“I applaud that this consummate consortium of nonprofits has formed to actively protect us against security threats to our digital infrastructure and uphold our open internet, combining their knowledge, skills, and tools for the greatest effect,” said Govind Shivkumar, director of responsible technology at Omidyar Network.

….

About the Nonprofit Cyber Founding Members

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is the international coalition unifying the global response to cybercrime across industry, government and law-enforcement sectors and NGO communities.  Learn more at https://apwg.org.

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) makes the connected world a safer place for people, businesses, and governments through our core competencies of collaboration and innovation.  Learn more at https://cisecurity.org.

Consumer Reports (CR) is an independent, nonprofit member organization that works side by side with consumers for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace.  Learn more at https://www.consumerreports.org.

CREST International is an international not-for-profit accreditation and certification body that represents and supports the technical information security market.  Learn more at https://crest-approved.org.

The Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) mission is to empower small and medium-sized enterprises with free tools and resources to help them become more secure and resilient. Learn more at https://cyberreadinessinstitute.org.

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment.  Learn more at https://cloudsecurityalliance.org.

The Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA) is working to improve the cybersecurity of our global digital ecosystem by enabling near real-time, high-quality cyber threat information sharing among companies and organizations in the cybersecurity field.  Learn more at https://www.cyberthreatalliance.org.

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) aspires to bring together incident response and security teams from every country across the world to ensure a safe internet for all.  Learn more at https://www.first.org.

The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) is an international, cross-sector effort dedicated to eradicating cyber risk and improving our connected world.  Learn more at www.globalcyberalliance.org.

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is a nonprofit foundation that works to improve the security of software.  Learn more at https://owasp.org.

SAFECode is a global industry forum where business leaders and technical experts come together to exchange insights and ideas on creating, improving, and promoting scalable and effective software security programs.  Learn more at https://safecode.org.

Sightline Security is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to equip, empower, and support global nonprofits to navigate and embed cybersecurity into their organizations with confidence. Learn more at https://sightlinesecurity.org/.