Common Good Cyber is inherently broad, and includes the set of available, accessible and deployed cybersecurity capabilities and activities that enable social and economic progress for everyone, beyond the investment that some might make to protect themselves. Common Good Cyber’s key objectives include:
- Global Collaboration: Promote effective collaboration between governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society to collectively support core capabilities of the Internet.
- Resource Mobilization: Channel support towards nonprofit and public interest organizations dedicated to preserving the availability and security of the Internet.
- Sustain Cybersecurity Capacity-Building: Drive efforts to ensure the longevity and scalability of cybersecurity capacity-building initiatives on a global scale.
Unlike most other services that are a critical part of our lives, like roads and electric power, some important parts of the Internet rely on people and nonprofits working on shaky ground and razor-thin budgets. This background paper focuses on a few illustrations of the challenges presented. The capabilities nonprofits provide form a significant part of the Internet, crucial for its availability, reliability, security, and scalability. However, the current funding and operational models for developing and maintaining these capabilities are unsustainable, posing risks to the Internet’s availability and security. Despite their critical role, organizations involved in these activities face limited funding and resourcing models, hindering their ability to operate and putting their future existence in jeopardy.
The goal of Common Good Cyber is to change this paradigm. Key stakeholders in the Internet ecosystem need a common understanding of the challenges. This document explores these challenges by examining four illustrative categories:
- Network Operation and Monitoring
- Open Source Software
- Operational and Support Organizations, and
- Development and Delivery of Services and Tools
