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The CyberPeace Builders is a network of corporate volunteers providing free assistance to Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) protecting vulnerable populations anywhere in the world.
The CyberPeace Builders program provides free pre- and post-incident assistance to NGOs in critical civilian sectors, such as healthcare, water and sanitation, food and agriculture, energy, information, etc. Pre-incident assistance includes provision of security assessments, awareness raising and incident-response capability building, training NGOs so they know how to respond, and who to contact. Post-incident assistance revolves around security hardening – tools, techniques, and best practices – to avoid reinfection. Support services are also provided such as data protection and privacy, communication, etc.
This model was developed after extensive consultations, prototyping and testing phases in 2020 to ensure that the necessary program support and legal requirements are in place.
This is a unique contribution to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16 which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions for all.
The program members are all volunteers recruited from local and international companies and coordinated by the CyberPeace Institute. Regional advisors working for the CyberPeace Builders program on the ground act as liaisons between the corporate volunteers and supported NGOs, thus providing a localized and contextualised approach that ensures support is adapted to the needs of each NGO.
Through the CyberPeace Builders Program NGOs gain access to industry-grade expertise to understand cyberthreats for their NGO, to strengthen internal capabilities and upskill staff to increase their resilience to cyberattacks and maintain vital services. Actionable and concrete cybersecurity support by the CyberPeace Builders enables NGOs to demonstrate that they have done due diligence – taken their cybersecurity seriously – which builds trust with donors and beneficiaries of their services, protects sensitive data and can lead to budgetary savings.
The CyberPeace Institute relies on donations to be able to provide this cybersecurity support to NGOs. Companies whose staff become CyberPeace Builders will benefit from increased employee loyalty and positive public perception as they are contributing to projects with a humanitarian purpose and achieving societal goals.
Employees gain skills through volunteering, as they encounter challenges that are not in their everyday work environment. Volunteering as a CyberPeace Builder also offers unique networking opportunities with like-minded individuals from all over the world.
Last but not least, by contributing to global cyberpeace efforts our supporters also contribute to their own cybersecurity. In today’s tightly interconnected world, no one is safe until everyone is safe.
If you are interested in supporting the CyberPeace Builders or in receiving this support, please reach out to us
Alexandru Lazar
Community Builder
Alexandru joined the CyberPeace Institute in 2021. He focuses on outreach with humanitarian NGOs in Switzerland and Europe to join the CyberPeace Builders program. Alexandru previously interned for several international organizations, such as the GCSP and Interpeace, where he did research on cybersecurity policy and program management for peacebuilding operations. Alexandru has an Erasmus Mundus International Masters degree in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies from the University of Glasgow, graduating in December 2020.
Ottavia Galuzzi
Cyber Operations Officer
Ottavia joined the CyberPeace Institute in 2019. She focuses on creating, implementing and raising awareness of the Institute’s pre-incident services to improve the skills and knowledge of beneficiaries to prepare for cyberattacks. Ottavia has worked across the private and public sectors as a cybersecurity and intelligence consultant and adviser. She has an Masters degree in Cybersecurity, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Fabien Leimgruber
Senior Program Manager
Fabien joined the CyberPeace Institute in 2020. His role is to build up the CyberPeace Builders’ network. Fabien has several years experience in cybersecurity in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. He managed the Cyber Threat Intelligence Unit at Kudelski Security and then he joined the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the Information Security Awareness Adviser. He has a Masters of Law in Criminality and Information Security from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
Adrien Ogée
Chief Operations Officer
Adrien joined the Institute in 2020. He has over ten years’ experience in senior cybersecurity roles in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, including at the French Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). Before joining the Institute, he led the cyber resilience portfolio at the World Economic Forum. Adrien has a Masters of Engineering from the University of Technology in Troyes, France, a Masters in Global Security from Cranfield University, UK and an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.
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The CyberPeace Institute’s staff and experts generate their own work and ideas consistent with the Institute’s mission. The Institute maintains strict intellectual independence for all its projects, events, and publications. The Institute maintains independent control of the content and conclusions of any products resulting from sponsored projects.