Project Galileo at 11: Cloudflare Reports 108.9 Billion Blocked Threats

Project Galileo’s latest figures show how much online attack traffic can burden organizations doing public interest work. Over 11 months, Cloudflare says it blocked 108.9 billion threats against groups in the program—an average of nearly 325.2 million a day. The company shared the figures in a new Cloudflare Radar report marking the initiative’s 11th anniversary in June 2025.

Launched to provide free cybersecurity protection, Project Galileo supports organizations including independent media, human rights groups and community activists. Cloudflare says its aim is to help these groups stay online while they carry out their work. The anniversary update combines attack data with two new partners in Asia-Pacific and case studies from organizations the program protects.

DDoS traffic leads the reported threats

Cloudflare’s report describes a shift in the attacks it sees: distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Project Galileo participants have become more common than attempts to exploit traditional web application vulnerabilities. Across the period from May 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, the blocked total was 241% higher than in the company’s 2024 Radar report.

Journalists and news organizations accounted for the largest volume. Cloudflare blocked more than 97 billion requests across 315 organizations in that category. The highest attack traffic was recorded on September 28, 2024. Human rights and civil society groups ranked second, with 8.9 billion requests blocked and their peak attack activity on October 8, 2024.

One incident illustrates how quickly attack traffic can rise around a newly protected group. Cloudflare onboarded the Belarusian Investigative Center on September 27, 2024, while the independent journalism organization was already under attack. The following day, a major application-layer DDoS attack generated more than 28 billion requests in a single day.

The report also describes a prolonged assault on Tech4Peace, a human rights organization focused on digital rights. Beginning March 10, 2025, the 12-day attack sent more than 2.7 billion requests. Its pattern combined extended periods of lower intensity with short, sharper bursts. That variation shows how attack activity can change over time, adding complexity to the work of detecting and responding to it.

Among the affected groups were investigative journalism outlets in Russia and Belarus, as well as nonprofits working against racism and extremism and defending workers’ rights. The full report also covers environmental groups and organizations involved in disaster and humanitarian relief. Its figures offer researchers and advocates a view into the threat activity Cloudflare observed among program participants; the company presents the data as a resource for improving security practices.

Two new partners extend regional support

Project Galileo relies on 56 civil society organizations to identify groups that may benefit from its services. For its anniversary, Cloudflare added two partners working on digital rights, open technologies and civil society in Asia and beyond.

EngageMedia is a nonprofit based in the Asia-Pacific region that combines advocacy, media and technology work. It supports digital rights, open and secure technology, and social issue documentaries, working with grassroots communities and advocates on human rights and environmental issues.

Cloudflare joined a 2025 Tech Camp for Human Rights Defenders hosted by EngageMedia. Around 40 activist-technologists from across Asia-Pacific took part. Sessions covered digital safety and ways to make websites more resilient to online threats. Cloudflare discussed common attack methods faced by nonprofits and human rights groups, including DDoS attacks, phishing and website defacement, as well as how Project Galileo can help reduce those risks. The discussions also gave the company a chance to hear from groups working directly with affected communities.

The other new partner, Taiwan’s Open Culture Foundation (OCF), was founded in 2014 by leaders in the island’s open technology communities. It works on digital rights, civic technology and collaboration among civil society and technology groups. Through the partnership, Cloudflare plans to support more than 34 local civil society organizations in Taiwan. Training and workshops will cover website infrastructure, DDoS vulnerabilities and ongoing research into security challenges facing local groups.

Case studies show the range of participants

Project Galileo’s participants work across different regions and fields, and their websites support a wide range of services. Cloudflare highlighted examples from its case studies, including Indonesia’s Fair Future Foundation, which provides health, education, clean water and electricity in rural Southeast Asia, and Serbia’s Youth Initiative for Human Rights, a regional network promoting human rights and youth activism.

Other featured organizations include Canada’s Greenpeace Canada Education Fund, which conducts research and public education on climate change and biodiversity; Latin America-focused Insight Crime, which investigates organized crime and citizen security; and Moldova’s Diez.md, a youth-focused news platform publishing in Romanian and Russian.

The list also includes Pussy Riot, a feminist art and activist collective; the United States’ Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which supports immigrant rights through training and educational materials; and the Netherlands’ 5W Foundation, which supplies equipment to conservation teams. EngageMedia is featured as well. Together, the examples make clear that the program serves groups with different missions, operating needs and exposure to online threats. More stories are available at Cloudflare’s Project Galileo case studies.

Support amid funding pressure

Cloudflare says many Project Galileo partners faced funding cuts in 2025, putting pressure on their operations and their ability to support communities. That constraint matters to a program whose reach depends on local organizations identifying groups that need protection. The company says it will continue working with its 56 partners as it expands access to security tools.

The anniversary report offers a snapshot of attacks recorded across participating organizations, while the new partnerships focus on building local skills and reaching more groups. For organizations with limited resources, both the protective service and practical training may help keep essential websites available. The next measure of Project Galileo’s reach will be whether its partner network can continue identifying organizations that need support as threats and funding conditions shift.