Helping Target-Rich, Resource-Poor Organizations
Many organizations providing critical services like nonprofits, cities, small hospitals, and school districts struggle to defend themselves against common cyber attacks like ransomware. They may not have the financial resources or expertise to improve their defenses, and many do not know where to begin.
To assist these organizations, cyber volunteers are stepping up across the country to provide no-cost cyber services. From volunteer incident responders to students teaching cyber hygiene practices, volunteers are plugging a critical gap in cyber protection of under-resourced organizations. These cyber experts often live and work in the communities where they volunteer, promoting a grassroots model of cyber defense and creating local trust groups across the country.
CLTC is proud to support these volunteer programs and promote the model of local cyber volunteers as one of many tools to help target-rich, resource-poor organizations boost their cyber defenses.
City Hall and police building in Walnut Creek, Calif., on April 18. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Supporting Cyber Volunteer Programs
- We convene the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, a group of educators running innovative clinic programs that train students to provide cybersecurity services for free to at-risk community organizations
- We are proud to participate in CISA JCDC’s High Risk Community Protection Initiative (HRCPI) and contribute our lessons learned from the Citizen Clinic on how to protect journalists, refugee organizations, and other nonprofits against politically-motivated cyber attacks.
- The Public Interest Cybersecurity Program, in partnership with MS-ISAC and the National Governors Association, co-organizes an upcoming taskforce and webinar series on Cyber Mutual Aid for state and local government organizations
- We spotlight many cyber volunteer programs at our yearly Cyber Civil Defense Summit – read more about the 2023 event and programs in our recap
