Defending Digital Campaigns announces its first president and CEO, board members and initial service offerings

WASHINGTON -- Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC), a new nonprofit and nonpartisan organization committed to bringing cybersecurity tools and resources to federal election campaigns, announced today that Michael Kaiser has been named the organization’s first president and CEO. Additionally, the group released a list of initial services that will be offered to campaigns including Agari, Area 1 Security, Cybrary, Elevate Security, GRA Quantum, Lookout, and Wickr.

“I am honored to be selected as DDC’s first president and CEO,” said Kaiser. “Protecting campaigns from cybersecurity threats is essential to our democratic process. Our goal is to make it easier and expeditious for campaigns to implement better cybersecurity practices.”

As the president and CEO, Kaiser will work with federal campaigns to help implement DDC’s current service offerings including Agari, an email security firm, Area 1 Security, a preemptive anti-phishing solution, Cybrary, an online IT security training service, Elevate Security, a security behavior change platform, GRA Quantum, a global cybersecurity firm that offers managed security services, Lookout, a mobile end-point security provider, and Wickr, an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform.

These low-to-no cost services are available today to eligible campaigns – a special permission granted to DDC by the Federal Election Commission to operate under this model.

“These companies offer exceptional services and will enable campaigns to operate in a full and robust manner while protecting their critical data and technology assets,” said Debora Plunkett, DDC Co-Founder and board chair. “We are excited about these partnerships and look forward to helping as many campaigns as possible.”

“As we head into the 2020 cycle, we’re building something with a real, long-term impact for campaigns, regardless of party affiliation,” said Matt Rhoades, DDC Co-Founder and DDC board member, and co-CEO of CGCN.

DDC also announced today the addition of three new board members – Ron Gula, President and Co-Founder Gula Tech Adventures, Allen Blue, Co-Founder of LinkedIn, and Suzanne Spalding, Senior Advisor for Homeland Security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“We are lucky to add Ron, Allen, and Suzanne to our team – they are pioneers in this space and are invaluable to our mission,” said Robby Mook, DDC Co-Founder, DDC board member, and President of the House Majority PAC. “The Board is excited to get DDC up and running to work with campaigns, party committees, and related industries to bring the best products, services, and ideas on cybersecurity to campaigns.”

About Defending Digital Campaigns:

Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC) is a nonprofit C4, nonpartisan and non-aligned organization providing access to cybersecurity products, services and information regardless of party affiliation.

Campaigns have faced two significant barriers as they seek to better secure themselves from cyber threats: the high cost of quality cybersecurity products and the experience to organize an effective security strategy. DDC helps them quickly overcome both, removing cost and expertise as barriers to security and allowing campaign staff to focus on what they do best: campaigning.

DDC’s team includes the former presidential campaign managers for Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, as well as former senior officials at the NSA and DHS, and the tech industry. Their combined expertise gives DDC the ability to curate a collection of smart products and engage effectively with campaigns and parties on both sides of the aisle.

DDC works with credible vendors to make their services available directly to campaigns at low-to-no cost, in addition to providing education and information sharing for campaign professionals. DDC was granted special permission by the Federal Election Commission to operate under this model, providing all campaigns--regardless of party--with the support they need within the limits of campaign finance law.

Media Contact:
Eva Bandola
bandola@cgcn.com
630-956-1776