CyberCAN Report Launch

Join CLTC and the City and County of San Francisco's Offices of Digital Equity and Cybersecurity for a gathering to co-launch CyberCAN: Cybersecurity for Cities and Nonprofits.

Nonprofits provide critical and time-sensitive services to local residents and are fixtures of community support, yet are the second-most-targeted sector by cyber attacks — and are among the least prepared to defend themselves.

This new report aims to help government leaders in San Francisco and other cities more effectively support the digital security of local nonprofits. The report was produced as part of Cybersecurity for Cities and Nonprofits (CyberCAN), an innovative research partnership between CLTC and the City and County of San Francisco to help improve municipal governments’ understanding of nonprofit cybersecurity challenges — and identify opportunities to improve nonprofits’ cyber resiliency.

At this event, CLTC researchers Sarah Powazek and Shannon Pierson will present key findings from a first-of-its-kind regional study of 68 San Francisco-based nonprofits. The study identifies their cybersecurity challenges, preferences for support, available resources, and baseline cyber hygiene practices. The researchers will also present recommendations for how municipal governments can better support and strengthen the cybersecurity of local nonprofits.

A 40-minute panel discussion will follow the report presentation. Nathan Sinclair, Interim City Chief Information Security Officer, Office of Cybersecurity, and Rey LaChaux, Digital Equity Manager, will discuss the report's proposed solutions and San Francisco’s ongoing efforts to support cybersecurity for local nonprofits.

Sarah Powazek serves as the Program Director of Public Interest Cybersecurity at the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), where she leads flagship research on defending low-resource organizations like nonprofits, municipalities, and schools from cyber attacks. She is a Senior Advisor for the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, and advocates for the expansion of clinical cyber education around the world. Sarah previously worked at CrowdStrike Strategic Advisory Services, and as the Program Manager of the Ransomware Task Force. She is an active member of the hacker community, and helps organize Hackers On The Hill, DistrictCon, and DEF CON Policy.

Shannon Pierson serves as the Public Interest Cybersecurity Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), where she produces research and advocates for the cybersecurity of public-serving organizations, such as nonprofits, hospitals, cities, and utilities. Her current work focuses on secure-by-design principles, K-12 cybersecurity, cyber equity, and responsible AI governance for the public sector. Shannon also coordinates the Cyber Civil Defense Summit, an annual mission-based gathering of cyber defenders to protect the nation’s most vulnerable public infrastructure. Shannon previously worked on cyber threat intelligence projects at Meta and for Microsoft.

Host or Publisher UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity