Project Galileo marks ten years of cyber defence at Cloudflare

Project Galileo, the cybersecurity initiative launched by Cloudflare, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. The project, which offers free protection against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, currently aids over 2,600 public interest organisations across 111 countries. These entities face an average of 96 million cyber threats daily. The impact on these companies has been profound, thanks to the robust security measures provided by Cloudflare.

Established in 2014, Project Galileo aims to safeguard the free expression of minority rights groups, human rights defenders, independent journalists, and democracy initiatives. Through its unmetered DDoS protection, provided at no cost, Project Galileo allows organisations with minimal resources to maintain their online presence even in the face of significant attacks. DDoS attacks, which flood a site with malicious traffic, can leave these organisations offline, jeopardising their missions to provide critical information and services.

Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, emphasised the importance of the project, stating, "Part of protecting the free and open Internet means making sure that civil society and political opposition around the world are not forced offline simply for speaking out or challenging those in power. To see this problem ten years ago, and to be in a position to help, has been one of our company's most important projects." He noted the dedication of Cloudflare employees in assisting new organisations onboard under the project.

The scale of the threats mitigated by Project Galileo is staggering. Between May 2023 and March 2024 alone, the initiative intercepted 31.93 billion cyber threats. Most participants in Project Galileo have limited cybersecurity infrastructure; a survey indicated that only 36% have dedicated cybersecurity personnel and 46% operate with just 1-10 employees. Consequently, every moment spent dealing with security threats is time taken away from their core missions.

One notable incident occurred on 11 October 2023, when the independent journalism website Meduza was targeted in a major DDoS attack that peaked at 7 million requests per second, with a total of 1.9 billion requests mitigated on that day. Journalists and media organisations accounted for 34% of all attacks against Project Galileo participants, followed by human rights organisations at 17%. Cloudflare identified a pattern of cyber-attacks occurring alongside wartime violence, with significant increases in traffic noted after the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on 7 October 2023.

Several organisations have highlighted the crucial role of Project Galileo in their operations. Awaq ONGD, for instance, relies on Cloudflare's protection to remain operational and allocate resources towards fighting climate change. The LGBT Foundation acknowledged the importance of Cloudflare's services in ensuring their constant online presence, vital for their lifesaving missions. Tech4Peace and UN Women Australia also praised the programme for enabling them to provide essential services and security advice.

Project Galileo's expansion is supported by a growing list of 54 partner organisations, which help identify websites eligible for participation. These partners bring expertise from various fields to ensure a neutral and unbiased selection process. The Internet Society, National Democratic Institute, and Nethope are among those contributing to the programme's success.

Dr. Joseph Hall from the Internet Society highlighted the necessity of such diverse support, noting, "Victims of domestic violence, democracy activists, and journalists can be targeted by very powerful and determined attackers. Programmes like Project Galileo allow for a collective defence against such threats." Evan Summers of the National Democratic Institute commended the user-friendly resources provided by Project Galileo, which have facilitated the introduction of DDoS protection concepts to democracy partners worldwide.

Organisations seeking protection under Project Galileo can apply directly through Cloudflare's website. The project aims to continue offering this service, enabling at-risk groups to maintain their online operations safely and effectively.