Lately, it seems like each day brings a new security threat or data leak. According to cybersecurity company Check Point, Q3 of 2024 alone logged a 75% increase in cyberattacks over Q3 of 2023, with the research noting that organizations in education and research were targeted most — 3,828 per week. Many actors use artificial intelligence (AI) to complete increasingly sophisticated attacks.
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Despite being at high risk, organizations like schools and nonprofits with limited resources don’t have the easiest time accessing professional help. Now, the Cyber Resilience Corps hopes to change that.
Led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, and the CyberPeace Institute, the project organizes cybersecurity professionals to volunteer to protect “community cyber resilience.” It plans to launch a “cyber volunteer platform” soon, where existing volunteer groups can streamline and expand their efforts.
“Public-interest community organizations — like nonprofits, rural hospitals and water districts, K-12 schools, municipalities, and small businesses — are increasingly targeted by cyber threats, including phishing, ransomware, and data breaches,” the initiative’s site explains.
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“Without affordable and accessible cybersecurity solutions, many are left not knowing where to start, making a new support model essential.”
The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity says there’s currently a “global shortage of nearly 4 million cyber professionals,” and that “almost 90% of organizations experienced a breach in the last year,” partly because of this lack of access to expertise. This gap indicates nonprofits and schools may be able to reduce their rate of attack with a little help.
According to the initiative’s landing page, the Cyber Resilience Corps will also “aggregate real-time data on incidents, responses, shared threat intelligence, and volunteer contributions, showcasing the measurable impact of cyber volunteer efforts.” The initiative will also feature tools that allow groups to share resources and collaborate.
The project aims to create a space for volunteers to “establish best practices” and “identify critical service gaps.” For organizations that require help, the initiative hopes to connect volunteers with specific skills to causes in need and identify areas with especially high demand for support.
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The initiative’s organizers told Cyberscoop they’ve counted thousands of volunteers thus far, but estimate that “as many as 200,000” could still be untapped.
The Cyber Resilience Corps also has plans to create a “national roadmap” for “long-term, systematic cyber defense of under-resourced organizations” in the US, and host workshops featuring cybersecurity experts. Both are set to launch in 2025.
“At the core of this project is the idea that at-risk community organizations are really on their own regarding cyber resilience and defending themselves against basic cyberattacks like ransomware,” Sarah Powazek, director of the center’s public interest cybersecurity program, told Cyberscoop.
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“There are all these very small, community-based organizations that really don’t meet the threat of a national security threat, so they really don’t get the full force of the federal government to their assistance, and they have really nowhere else to turn,” she added. “If they don’t have the money, if they don’t have the talent and resources to protect themselves, they’re out of luck.”
Craig Newmark Philanthropies backs the initiative, which currently partners with organizations including the Franklin Project, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, and the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, among others.
How to get involved
If you’re interested in getting support for your organization or joining Cyber Resilience Corps as a volunteer, you can register by email here.
