Picture this: every single day, over 325 million cyber attacks rain down on organizations fighting for justice, truth, and human rights. That’s not a dystopian nightmare—it’s the reality revealed by Project Galileo’s 11th-anniversary report, which paints a stark picture of the digital battleground where civil society organizations face unprecedented threats.
The Numbers Tell a Chilling Story
Between May 2024 and March 2025, Cloudflare’s Project Galileo blocked an astounding 108.9 billion cyber threats—a 241% increase from the previous year. This represents nearly one attack every microsecond, targeting organizations that society relies on for truth, justice, and humanitarian aid.
The data reveal a troubling trend: DDoS attacks have become the weapon of choice for those seeking to silence the voices of civil society. These attacks flood websites with malicious traffic, effectively shutting them down when people need them most.
Journalists in the Crosshairs
Journalism organizations bore the brunt of these attacks, facing over 97 billion blocked requests across 315 different outlets. The peak came on September 28, 2024, when attackers unleashed over 28 billion requests in a single day against the Belarusian Investigative Center—a nonprofit dedicated to exposing corruption in authoritarian regimes.
This wasn’t random violence. Many targets were investigative outlets operating under government pressure in countries like Russia and Belarus, suggesting coordinated efforts to silence independent reporting.
Human Rights Organizations Under Siege
Human rights groups faced 8.9 billion blocked attacks, with peak activity on October 8, 2024. These organizations, often operating on shoestring budgets, face sophisticated multi-day campaigns designed to overwhelm their defenses.
Tech4Peace, working to combat digital threats in Iraq and the MENA region, endured a brutal 12-day assault, delivering 2.7 billion requests. The attackers showed remarkable sophistication, alternating between sustained low-intensity attacks and sudden high-intensity bursts—a deliberate strategy to find weaknesses.
The Broader Impact
Social welfare organizations (1.5 billion blocked requests) and environmental groups (1 billion blocked requests) also faced significant attacks. Particularly telling was the attack on The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity in Poland—which struck just one day before their major fundraising event, suggesting attackers deliberately targeted their mission-critical moments.
Ukrainian organizations faced exceptionally coordinated attacks, with safety alert websites targeted during actual Russian drone strikes—a cynical attempt to blind civilians to incoming threats during real emergencies.
Why This Matters
These aren’t just statistics—they represent attacks on democracy itself. When journalism outlets go dark, truth suffers. When human rights organizations are silenced, justice falters. When disaster relief groups are overwhelmed, lives hang in the balance.
Most concerning is the sophistication and coordination of these attacks. They’re not random acts of vandalism but calculated campaigns targeting organizations at their most vulnerable moments, utilizing resources that suggest significant backing.
Project Galileo’s work has never been more critical, as it provides essential digital shields for organizations that protect our most fundamental values in an increasingly dangerous digital world.
