Eleven years of shielding public-interest organizations from cyber threats
Project Galileo, Cloudflare's initiative to provide free cybersecurity protection to vulnerable organizations working in the public interest, marks its 11th anniversary in June 2025. The program continues to support independent media, human rights groups, community activists, and other civil society organizations that are frequently targeted for their work in democracy building and human rights advocacy.
To commemorate the anniversary, Cloudflare has published several updates, including a new interactive Radar report detailing the cyber threats faced by protected organizations, expanded partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, and new case studies from organizations on the frontlines of civil society and journalism.
Attack data reveals shifting threat landscape
A newly published Cloudflare Radar report offers a detailed look at the cyber threats targeting organizations under Project Galileo's protection. The data covers an 11-month period from May 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, and provides insights into attack trends that can help researchers and civil society groups adopt better security practices.
Key findings from the report include:
- DDoS attacks are increasingly common against these organizations, surpassing traditional web application vulnerability exploits in frequency.
- Cloudflare blocked 108.9 billion cyber threats against Project Galileo organizations during the reporting period, averaging nearly 325.2 million attacks per day — a 241% increase from the 2024 Radar report.
- Journalists and news organizations saw the highest volume of attacks, with over 97 billion requests blocked across 315 organizations. Peak attack traffic was recorded on September 28, 2024. The Human Rights/Civil Society Organizations category ranked second with 8.9 billion blocked requests, with peak activity on October 8, 2024.
- Many targets were investigative journalism outlets operating in regions under government pressure, including Russia and Belarus, as well as NGOs working on issues like racism, extremism, and workers' rights.
The report highlights specific incidents that demonstrate the scale of attacks. The Belarusian Investigative Center was onboarded on September 27, 2024, while already under attack; a major application-layer DDoS attack the following day generated over 28 billion requests in a single day. Tech4Peace, a digital rights organization, was targeted with a 12-day attack beginning March 10, 2025, that delivered over 2.7 billion requests, mixing prolonged lower-intensity attacks with short, high-intensity bursts.
The full Radar report also covers public interest organizations, environmental groups, and disaster and humanitarian relief efforts, serving as a resource for policymakers, researchers, and advocates working to protect these groups.
Expanding reach through regional partnerships
Project Galileo relies on a network of 56 trusted civil society organizations worldwide to identify and support groups in need of protection. This year, two new partners have joined the initiative, both focused on digital rights and open technology in the Asia-Pacific region.
EngageMedia, a nonprofit based in the Asia-Pacific region, works at the intersection of advocacy, media, and technology to promote digital rights, open and secure technology, and social issue documentaries. As part of the new partnership, Cloudflare participated in a 2025 Tech Camp for Human Rights Defenders hosted by EngageMedia, which brought together around 40 activist-technologists from across the region. The camp focused on building practical digital safety skills and website resilience, with Cloudflare presenting on attack vectors like DDoS, phishing, and website defacement, and discussing strategies for promoting digital security tools to vulnerable groups.
The Open Culture Foundation (OCF), founded in 2014 by leaders of Taiwan's open tech communities, also joins as a new partner. OCF supports digital rights, civic tech, and open collaboration between government, civil society, and the tech community. Through this partnership, Cloudflare aims to support more than 34 local civil society organizations in Taiwan by providing training and workshops on managing website infrastructure and addressing vulnerabilities such as DDoS attacks, along with ongoing research into the security challenges these communities face.
Stories from organizations on the frontlines
Newly published case studies highlight the diverse range of organizations supported by Project Galileo and the challenges they face. These include:
- Fair Future Foundation (Indonesia): provides health, education, and essential resources in ultra-rural Southeast Asia.
- Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Serbia): regional NGO network promoting human rights and reconciliation in the Balkans.
- Belarusian Investigative Center (Belarus): media organization investigating corruption, sanctions evasion, and disinformation.
- The Greenpeace Canada Education Fund (GCEF) (Canada): conducts research and public education on climate change, biodiversity, and environmental justice.
- Insight Crime (LATAM): nonprofit investigating organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Diez.md (Moldova): youth-focused news platform offering content in Romanian and Russian.
- EngageMedia (APAC): defends digital rights and supports human rights advocates across Asia-Pacific.
- Pussy Riot (Europe): feminist art and activist collective challenging authoritarianism.
- Immigrant Legal Resource Center (United States): advances immigrant rights through legal training and policy advocacy.
- 5W Foundation (Netherlands): wildlife conservation nonprofit supporting front-line conservation teams.
These case studies, available at cloudflare.com/project-galileo-case-studies/, illustrate the crucial role cybersecurity plays in enabling these organizations to stay secure and focused on their work.
Sustaining support amid funding challenges
In 2025, many Project Galileo partners have experienced significant funding cuts that affect their operations and ability to support communities. Ensuring continued protection for these services, despite financial and logistical obstacles, remains a priority. The program continues to work with its civil society partners to identify organizations needing support, working toward a more secure and open Internet for all.
