FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2024
NetHope Communications Team
Communications@NetHope.org
Virginia, USA – This week NetHope joined the 159 technology company signatories and 11 other groups endorsing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Secure By Design (SbD) Pledge. NetHope’s endorsement is in line with its 2024–2030 strategy, which focuses on bridging “The New Digital Divides”—challenges that represent critical gaps in infrastructure, systems, capabilities, and knowledge across five prominent areas. Digital protection is one of these areas and NetHope is driving multi-sector, collaborative and strategic approaches to address increasing digital security threats—like cyber security and mis-/dis-/mal- information—with an emphasis on insights and skills sharing, global co-creation, and long-term commitment to protect digital rights.
Cyber attacks on organizations have risen to alarming levels. Digital safety at international NGOs is essential for protecting the vulnerable populations they serve and their employees. As cybersecurity risks have become increasingly complex, solitary defense is no longer an option. Better digital protection is needed to address the threats endemic to all digital spaces. Endorsing CISA’s SbD Pledge is in keeping with NetHope’s leadership and the entirety of the NetHope community at the center of international NGOs, government initiatives, and global technology partners working for the benefit of the entire humanitarian and conservation ecosystem.
Earlier this year, the Biden Administration released its National Cybersecurity Strategy with the aim of rebalancing cybersecurity burden and risk from the most vulnerable and least capable of cyber defense— such as individuals, nonprofits, educational institutions, and local governments— onto the most capable and best-positioned to reduce risk for all of us, the software OEMs. CISA’s SbD Pledge takes a step toward achieving this strategic goal by calling on technology developers to commit to a series of seven software quality improvement goals. These include:
“I am pleased to endorse these goals and applaud CISA leadership for convening and catalyzing commitments to meet them. I am proud of many of NetHope’s current global technology partners who have already signed the Secure By Design Pledge. Collective action across sectors is essential to immediately respond to current threats so NGOs can sustainably build their cyber defenses and resilience, lower the number of successful attacks, limit loss of money, and ultimately better protect the digital rights and digitally-enabled rights of the people served. The nonprofit sector relies on commercially available technologies to move all aspects of their operations and missions forward. When technology companies pledge to raise the bar themselves, the whole ecosystem benefits – especially the most vulnerable and exposed on the front lines.” - Lance Pierce, NetHope CEO
NetHope’s endorsement of CISA’s SbD pledge continues our track record of close cooperation with government policymakers to improve the humanitarian sector’s cybersecurity, including our work with CISA’s High Risk Community Protection Working Group, and a Memorandum of Understanding executed with USAID and Okta to establish a Global Humanitarian Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GH-ISAC). Today, the Global Humanitarian ISAC the central platform that enables governments, funders, technology companies, and other trusted providers to support the spectrum of information security needs of nonprofit agencies and the world’s most vulnerable communities. It is a fundamental step forward to confidently advance the nonprofit sector on the journey to digital resilience.
NetHope has produced a variety of resources on digital protection which include:
NetHope Members can also join the Digital Protection Working Group by accessing the NetHope Network for the latest information and to get involved!
About NetHope
NetHope is a catalyst for collective impact that advances humanitarian, conservation, and international development efforts worldwide. For more than 20 years, we’ve enabled international nongovernmental organizations and leading technology partners to address our world’s most pressing challenges and advance global good through collaboration, collective action, and smarter use of digital technology. Over 60 nonprofit Members and 50 technology partners collaborate to leverage digital solutions for exponential impact. Collectively, NetHope Members deliver more than 60% of all annual international, non-governmental aid, serving over 1.67 billion people in 190 countries.
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