Craig Newmark, founder of the online classifieds site Craigslist, believes the United States has a cybersecurity problem.
The entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist has pledged to donate $100 million to help protect the country from potential future cyberattacks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Newmark will dedicate $50 million to protecting infrastructure, such as power grids, from cyberattacks, including those from foreign countries. The other half of his donation will go toward educating the public about protecting their personal information, the report said.
Newmark, 71, retired from the company he founded in 2018.
“The country is under attack,” Newmark told the Wall Street Journal. He added that cybersecurity experts working to protect the country from attacks “need people to defend them.”
Today, many homes use connected devices or smart devices that can make them vulnerable to hacking by criminals. At the business level, cyberattacks are becoming more common.
“In today’s cyber war, the fight is on our own shores, and we must all play an active role in protecting our country and ourselves,” Newmark writes on his website.
In June, Hacker group destroys CDK Global’s software platformcrippling car dealerships across the United States CDK said hackers demanded a ransom to restore its systems. In February, hackers infiltrated payment processor Change Healthcare, crippling segments of the U.S. health care system. These are just two examples of the far-reaching impact a cyberattack can have on an industry.
In his latest commitment, Newmark, who has pledged to give nearly all of his fortune to charity, is donating to a University of Chicago School of Public Policy project that trains cybersecurity volunteers to strengthen local infrastructure. Children’s internet safety group Common Sense Media is another beneficiary, according to the WSJ report.
The vast majority of the $100 million pledged has yet to be allocated, and organizations can request donations through Newmark’s philanthropic organization, Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
On the foundation’s website, Newmark explains that he likes to donate to organizations he believes in and lets them spend the money as they see fit. “I find people who are really good at what they do and can tolerate my sense of humor. I provide them with resources and then I get out of their way,” he explains.
In addition to cybersecurity, Newmark also champions other causes, including supporting military families and veterans, protecting trustworthy journalism, and saving pigeons.
