In a recent podcast, “Lawfare Daily: Phil Reitinger and Komal Bazaz Smith on Civil Society and Strengthening Internet Security,” Phil Reitinger, President & CEO, and Komal Bazaz Smith, Chief Business Officer, of the Global Cyber Alliance discuss critical cybersecurity issues affecting core Internet infrastructure.
They highlight the role of small, often underappreciated and frequently underfunded nonprofits in maintaining Internet security. The conversation delves into Common Good Cyber, which aims to identify and implement innovative models for sustaining groups, organizations, and individuals involved in critical cybersecurity functions for the broader Internet community.
Reitinger said GCA is unusual in that it operates in a niche between big companies dealing with cybersecurity and think tanks doing policy research and writing reports. GCA focuses on solving problems through tangible solutions, building communities to solve huge problems by delivering cybersecurity solutions at scale so everyone is safer online.
Bazaz Smith highlighted that GCA is focused on solving these very complex problems that nobody else wants to solve, like Common Good Cyber, that can be revolutionary and potentially change the cybersecurity ecosystem for the long term.
It takes a whole-of-society effort, what Craig Newmark calls Cyber Civil Defense, to maintain critical cybersecurity functions for all Internet users, including the most vulnerable. Reitinger pointed out how many nonprofits are running on skeleton crews and shaky funding mechanisms, and how funding is often tied to creating something new, as opposed to paying for the continuing operation of critically important solutions. Bazaz Smith pointed to the new Common Good Cyber mapping database that outlines over 300 tools so far, so that we can understand what’s out there, who’s running it, and what metrics we can gather.
“Cybersecurity has always been a nonpartisan issue, and it needs to remain that way,” said Reitinger.
Listen to the full episode to hear more.
