Avast donated $500,000.00 to the international non-profit organization, The Shadowserver Foundation, to support their mission to make the internet more secure.
The contribution is the largest single donation this year to the foundation. Trend Micro announced a $600,000 grant in May, spread over three years. The Internet Society also contributed $400,000 this year.
Avast contributed to the organization based on an urgent call by the organization for funding.
Shadowserver collects data on cyber traffic, security, and threat intelligence from various companies and market players. It scans over them and creates honeypots. These results are then provided, for example, to national security CSIRTs or entities such as the FBI, Interpol, and Europol.
“The organization (Shadowserver) scans the entire IPv4 internet daily, operates a sinkhole infrastructure, and operates an extensive network of honeypots and honey clients to gather information. The organization also collects raw data, analyzes malware, and maintains up-to-date samples,” said Cybersecurity Chief Jaya Baloo.
Avast has partnered with Shadowserver by sharing threat intelligence with the foundation. The partnership was formed on the belief that combining forces is paramount in fighting against bad actors, cyberspace, and nation-states from spreading their malware.
Shadowserver collects intelligence from various cybersecurity industry players and runs their own scans and honeypots to reveal security vulnerabilities, combat malicious activities, and help victims.
Shadowserver works with industry sectors, national CSIRTS, and law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, Interpol, and Europol, providing access to invaluable critical data and helping to take down and remediate cybersecurity threats globally.
The Foundation scans the entire IPv4 internet daily, operates a sinkhole infrastructure, and runs large-scale networks of honeypots and honey clients to collect threat intel. Additionally, they store collected raw data, analyze malware, and keep over 1.3 billion samples up-to-date by reprocessing malicious samples every 90 days.
“I am very proud that Avast is funding the Shadowserver Foundation with $500,000. Cybersecurity is essential in today’s tech-first world, and we are committed to contributing to all causes that support the improvement of security measures. While sharing data and insights is important and fundamental to Shadowserver’s efforts, we are also fully aware that non-profits depend on financial donations to operate. We feel it is our obligation to help maintain organizations that share our mission, to keep the online world safe and secure, a goal we can only achieve if we work together,” Jaya Baloo, Chief Information Security Officer at Avast, said.
“Our mission is to make the internet more secure by bringing to light vulnerabilities, malicious activity, and emerging threats. It’s vital we collaborate with industry-leading organizations, like Avast, who share our vision and values. Their threat insights contribute to the intelligence we can share with our members, CERTS, and law enforcement agencies. At this time of global uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increased potential attack opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit, we are all now more than ever, dependent on a secure, reliable Internet. The Avast donation will enable us to continue this important fight and ensure that victims of cybercrime continue to be protected, and the cybercriminals do not win,” Richard Perlotto, Director and Founder at Shadowserver said.
