Project Galileo at eight: new partners, crisis response, and onboarding tools
Project Galileo launched in 2014 with a straightforward mission: keep organizations working on human rights and democracy-building online, even when they come under cyber attack. Eight years on, that mission has expanded beyond DDoS mitigation to encompass broader collaboration with civil society, providing tools and support to groups that are often the most vulnerable on the Internet. The project currently protects 1,900+ organizations across 111 countries.
The past year drove home how quickly that support can be needed. In March 2022, following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, applications to the project jumped 177%. Since then, 43 organizations in Ukraine have been onboarded, and within the broader region—which now includes 116 protected organizations—62 were added during the crisis itself. The groups range from journalists reporting on the ground in Kyiv to human rights activists aiding refugees to developers building air-raid alert applications.
That crisis response underscored a key lesson: collaboration among civil society, governments, and the private sector enables rapid mobilization. While much attention rightfully centers on human rights defenders themselves, many civil society groups providing aid and support also lack the resources to secure their own digital infrastructure. Ukrainian organizations under attack can apply for free protection at www.cloudflare.com/galileo, and reviews are expedited.
Two new civil society partners
This year, Project Galileo welcomes International Media Support and CyberPeace Institute as partners. These additions expand the range of groups the project can bring under its umbrella, from environmental journalism outlets in Brazil to social justice organizations in the United States to activists in authoritarian states.
Understanding attack patterns with Radar
To better equip researchers, civil society, and targeted organizations with best practices, Cloudflare built a Radar dashboard focused on attacks against groups in human rights, journalism, and community building. The dashboard draws on data from organizations onboarded in Ukraine and neighboring countries during the conflict. A deeper look at the attacks these groups face is covered in a separate blog post and Radar dashboard.
A dedicated portal for participants
Project Galileo’s 1,900+ beneficiaries fall into two broad categories. Some are familiar with the security landscape and know which Cloudflare tools they need. The majority, however, lack dedicated IT staff and may not understand the threat landscape they face—often arriving only after an attack forces an emergency migration.
For that second group, Cloudflare has launched a centralized portal designed to ease onboarding and ongoing management. It provides tailored videos on security products, with a focus on Cloudflare Zero Trust, plus guidance on configuration and training. The goal is to give organizations with little or no technical support a clearer path to staying online and secure.
Engaging at RightsCon 2022
Cloudflare sponsors Access Now’s RightsCon each year, and this year’s event covers Internet shutdowns, digital security, privacy, and surveillance. A particular focus is a community lab hosted alongside partners including the National Democratic Institute, Internews, CyberPeace Institute, and Okta. The session examines tools available to at-risk organizations and how the private sector and civil society can jointly improve security resources. The session runs Wednesday, June 8, at 12:30 pm ET; details are on the RightsCon website.
Case studies and how to apply
Project Galileo’s anniversary also spotlights the organizations it protects. Case studies feature groups doing human rights and community building work, explaining how they stay online with Cloudflare and encouraging others in similar positions to seek protection. They are available at cloudflare.com/project-galileo-case-studies.
Organizations seeking protection can apply at cloudflare.com/galileo.
