NetHope, a catalyst for collective impact that advances humanitarian, conservation, and international development efforts worldwide, has partnered with Okta, in a groundbreaking initiative aimed at enhancing cybersecurity resilience across the nonprofit sector. This strategic partnership, underpinned by a $2.5 million commitment from Okta for Good, Okta’s philanthropic arm, over five years will unlock more resources to strengthen the security posture of nonprofits. It will support a safer digital ecosystem for nonprofits worldwide by unlocking more resources to protect these organizations’ to increase their confidence in their security posture for the billions of vulnerable people they serve around the world.

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A Transformative Partnership

Cyberattacks on organizations have risen to alarming levels, making nonprofits’ digital safety essential. Okta is a founding partner of NetHope’s Center for the Digital Nonprofit and NetHope’s Global Humanitarian Information Sharing & Analysis Center (ISAC) — a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership created to better protect nonprofits from rising cyberthreats. NetHope and Okta’s new partnership announced at NetHope’s 2024 Global Summit will provide essential tools to catalyze lasting change:

1. The Global Humanitarian ISAC and Dial-A-CISO Program

Information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) can help support nonprofits in times of a cyberattack and help to build defenses and resilience. The NetHope Global Humanitarian ISAC, established with USAID and Okta in 2022, serves as the central platform that enables governments, funders, technology companies, and other trusted providers to support the spectrum of information security needs of nonprofits and the communities they serve. By addressing key gaps and barriers to nonprofit cybersecurity, the Global Humanitarian ISAC aims to deliver stronger protection of sensitive information and effective cyber defense that reduces the likelihood of harm to beneficiaries, as well as the economic and/or reputational loss to nonprofits from cyber risks. This partnership will help to ensure that for the next five years, the NetHope Global Humanitarian ISAC can provide contextually informed support to the nonprofit sector. NetHope will expand and build the sustainability of this initiative and innovate program interventions that meet the future needs of the sector to create better conditions for impact longevity and sustainability in the sector.

This partnership will also help sustain the NetHope virtual CISO program, started initially with Okta’s support over two years ago, providing expert-level advice to nonprofits who cannot afford a permanent CISO.

2. Sustain and Build the Ecosystem of Nonprofit Cyber Leadership

NetHope and Okta recognize that cybersecurity requires a collaborative approach. By exchanging insights and utilizing each other’s strengths, resources and efforts can extend further to reach more of the ecosystem. Through this partnership, NetHope will lead convenings of leaders to form shared projects, partnerships, and coalitions of change, more impactful advocacy, and effective sharing of best practices and resources.

3. Acceleration of Digital Transformation of Nonprofits

NetHope believes in the power of technology to enable, connect, and multiply the life-transforming impact of the nonprofit sector. This partnership will support the work of the NetHope Center for the Digital Nonprofit, bringing together the expertise of the technology sector with the on-the-ground experience of nonprofits. The Center will also continue its virtual CIO support to nonprofits, nonprofit research and corresponding publications, and deliver actionable insight reports and standards. This sectoral leadership that is vital to the experience of nonprofits is understood and advocated for, programs are evidence-based, and solutions are fit-for-purpose.

“This latest investment represents the next milestone in our journey with NetHope and its global community of nonprofits. Cyber insecurity remains a top risk for all organizations. Nonprofits face additional challenges as one of the most targeted — and most vulnerable — sectors. Now is the time to come together as a community to create solutions and equip this sector with the resources, skills, and knowledge needed to best protect themselves from cyber threats. Together we can build a more secure world,” said Erin Baudo Felter, VP of Social Impact & Sustainability, Okta.

“The rapidly expanding threats to digital protection and cybersecurity of the nonprofit sector as a whole are threatening the life-saving, community-serving work that these organizations perform every day. Okta, as an industry leader in this space recognizes that if you can’t protect your organization from cybercrime, you can’t protect the people you serve from cybercriminals. We are proud to be expanding our joint work with Okta supporting the international NGO and nonprofit sector via their renewed and expanded investment in NetHope’s Digital Protection work and the Global Humanitarian ISAC. The NetHope-Okta partnership on this issue will do more to protect hard-working, resource-strapped charitable organizations and the vulnerable populations they serve,” said Lance Pierce, CEO, NetHope

Cybersecurity Challenges in the Nonprofit Sector: Growing Threats and the Need for Action

NetHope’s research illuminates the interconnected nature of the deficits nonprofits face in their digital protection and cybersecurity. For many nonprofits, the lack of resources and expertise poses a significant barrier to building strong digital defenses, leaving sensitive data and critical services vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Today, humanitarian and development agencies provide many of the same essential critical services like health, water, elections, and even banking and financial services, to over a billion people worldwide. However, nonprofits are not recognized by governments and multilaterals as critical infrastructure in the same way as the transport, energy and aviation sectors, meaning they don’t benefit from the same support and resourcing for their protection, including in cybersecurity.

In NetHope’s 2024 State of Humanitarian and Development Cybersecurity Report, 65% of nonprofit Members surveyed reported experiencing a security breach in the preceding 12 months and more than half are not confident their cybersecurity is a well-managed risk. The impact can have dire consequences and lives are at risk. In 2022, the International committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a NetHope Member, discovered a sophisticated cyber-attack on their services hosting personal data of more than 515,000 vulnerable conflict-affected people using family reunification services. The Red Cross was forced to temporarily halt a program that reunites families torn apart by violence, migration or other tragedies.

Making a difference. Together.

As cybersecurity risks become increasingly complex, solitary defense is no longer an option. Collective action is essential to immediately respond to current threats so that nonprofits can sustainably build their cyber defenses and resilience, lower the number of successful attacks, limit the loss of money, and protect their digital rights, and digitally enabled rights of the people they serve. Together, NetHope and Okta will provide innovative solutions to address the pressing need of digital protection for the nonprofit community and safer mission delivery to those that need it most.

About Okta

Okta is The World’s Identity Company™. We secure Identity, so everyone is free to safely use any technology. Our customer and workforce solutions empower businesses and developers to use the power of Identity to drive security, efficiencies, and success — all while protecting their users, employees, and partners. Learn why the world’s leading brands trust Okta for authentication, authorization, and more at okta.com.

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 the 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.

For more information on the NetHope-Okta for Good partnership and its implications for the nonprofit sector, please contact the details below.

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