Reaching an Underserved Population in Communities: Project Xander – Cybersecurity for NonProfits

Abstract

Cyber criminals continue to look for new targets which they can exploit. A recent addition to their list of targets are nonprofit and faith-based organizations within communities. These organization generally do not have the budget to hire a cybersecurity professional or pay for cybersecurity services. A program to reach this sector to assist them with their cybersecurity posture was launched called Project Xander. This program is designed to utilize students from area colleges and universities to provide assessment and consulting services for organizations within the sector. The pilot program was run in the 2021-2022 academic year and was successful and is now being expanded to include other communities and academic institutions. It addresses a need in communities in a sector that has been underserved and that has historically not had the resources to implement robust cybersecurity programs.