CyberCAN: Cybersecurity for Cities and Nonprofits

A new CLTC report provides guidance to help government leaders in San Francisco and other cities more effectively support the digital security of local nonprofits. The report, “CyberCAN: Cybersecurity for Cities and Nonprofits,” was produced as part of Cybersecurity for Cities and Nonprofits (CyberCAN), an innovative research partnership between CLTC and the City and County of San Francisco.

Nonprofits like food banks, homelessness services, and community development organizations provide critical and time-sensitive services to local residents and are fixtures of community support for people of all ages. But nonprofits are also the second-most-targeted sector for cyber attacks — and are among the least prepared to defend themselves.

Craig Newmark Philanthropies and Okta For Good provide ongoing support for innovative public interest cybersecurity research at UC Berkeley. This research focuses on defending low-resource public interest organizations, such as nonprofits, municipalities, and schools, from cyberattacks, including the CyberCAN report. The next phase of this project will examine how to bring these findings to smaller cities and municipalities across the country.