Press Release
GCA and Partners Announce “BEYOND125 Action Plan” to Improve and Protect the Digital Future
The Hague, the Netherlands – 1 October 2024 – On 30 September, the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), the CyberPeace Institute, and the City of the Hague launched a bold call to action to address critical security threats in the digital world.
Unveiled at “Beyond 125 Years: Securing Our World’s Digital Future” at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the BEYOND125 Action Plan calls for global leaders, cyber defenders, and philanthropists to take action to ensure online safety. A critical objective of the Plan is a dedicated fund to finance tools, services, and platforms that enable cybersecurity, and to fund the organizations that build and maintain them. Common Good Cyber, a collective effort by a group of partner nonprofits, will play a pivotal role in establishing and sustaining that fund.
Marina Kaljurand, Member of the European Parliament, noted “The international community should recognize cybersecurity as a global common good. It is critical not only for protecting IT systems but, also, for ensuring peace, stability, and justice. Therefore, the Common Good Cyber initiative is a historic step in the right direction.”
Highlights of the event included:
- Philip Reitinger, GCA President and CEO, and Stéphane Duguin, CyberPeace Institute CEO and GCA Strategic Advisor, discussed threats we all face in today’s digital environment, noting that many nonprofits lack the internal resources to prioritize cybersecurity.
- Kayle Giroud, Director, Common Good Initiatives at GCA, introduced Common Good Cyber, its secretariat organizations, and its mandate to identify and implement innovative models for sustaining those involved in critical cybersecurity functions.
- Liga Rozentāle, Director Public Policy, Crowdstrike and GCA Strategic Advisor, moderated a panel on core infrastructure and the vast network of nonprofits and NGOs that build and maintain critical components of our global cybersecurity.
- GCA Board Chair and Distinguished Fellow, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, held a fireside chat with Kathryn Jones, Head of Cyber Strategy & Engagement, UK Government Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The FCDO has pledged a £300,000 grant to bolster Common Good Cyber. Ms. Jones called on States to recognize the importance of securing digital infrastructures that affect civil society and humanitarian efforts and to join with the FCDO in supporting this initiative.
“GCA’s mission is to provide scalable cybersecurity solutions. We are committed to this critical BEYOND125 Action Plan that aligns directly with our mission,” said Philip Reitinger, President and CEO of the Global Cyber Alliance. “We aim to foster a safer and united digital future for everyone—especially those most vulnerable—by taking direct action in supporting cybersecurity organizations that work for the Common Good.”
To learn more about the event and the BEYOND125 Action Plan, visit https://beyond125.org/.
About Global Cyber Alliance
The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to building communities to deploy tools, services, and programs that provide cybersecurity at global scale. It achieves this in three ways: working with communities; engaging infrastructure owners and operators; and driving ecosystem engagement for collective action on cybersecurity.GCA coordinates the secretariat of the Common Good Cyber initiative.
About Common Good Cyber
Common Good Cyber is an initiative to drive collective and sustained action to support the nonprofits that deliver cybersecurity tools, services, and platforms that work at scale. Safeguarding the Internet is a shared responsibility that transcends geographical and sectoral boundaries. Common Good Cyber is working to unite the online community and those who depend on the Internet to work together to ensure its availability and security for everyone, forever. Watch the Common Good Cyber video.