Cybersecurity Policy Report, CISA Offers Cybersecurity Resources to ‘High-Risk Communities’, (Apr 2, 2024)
A program dedicated to improving the cyber defenses and skills of “high-risk communities”—such as activists, journalists, and academics—was unveiled today by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
“High-risk communities play a critical role in providing services and advancing causes upon which people around the world depend,” CISA noted on its new high-risk communities webpage.
“These communities include activists, journalists, human rights defenders, academics, and other employees associated with civil society organizations that are at heightened risk of being targeted by cyber threat actors because of their identity or work,” CISA said.
“Many of these communities operate on lean budgets and cannot significantly invest in cybersecurity. As a result, they are a uniquely attractive target for cyber threat actors that leverage cyber intrusions to undermine the fundamental values and interests common to free societies,” it added.
Resources being offered include “Project Upskill,” which provides tailored cybersecurity guidance for high-risk communities. “Project Upskill is designed to arm individuals employed by or supporting high-risk organizations with simple steps to meaningfully improve their cyber hygiene,” according to a blog post from Clayton Romans, associate director of CISA’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative.
“The steps outlined in this new resource are not a ‘silver bullet’ against cyber intrusions; however, they can make it more difficult and costly for malign cyber actors to target individuals and the organization,” Mr. Romans said.
Other resources for high-risk communities include a catalog of free cybersecurity services for eligible organizations. “Across the United States, academic institutions, non-profits, and municipalities are setting up cybersecurity clinics and volunteer corps to provide free, hands-on support for incident response and resilience building. High-risk organizations often qualify for support from these volunteer clinics,” Mr. Romans noted.
The new resources for high-risk communities “are the product of a year-long effort spearheaded by the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative in partnership with industry and civil society,” he added. “Informed by the unique expertise and experiences of our civil society and industry partners, these resources directly respond to the unique threat profile and operational realities of high-risk organizations that are targeted by sophisticated threat actors.”
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