Defending Digital Campaigns

What Defending Digital Campaigns does

Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization founded in 2019 that provides free and reduced-cost cybersecurity products and services to eligible political campaigns. The organization operates as a nonpartisan clearinghouse between major technology vendors and U.S. political campaigns, having received Federal Election Commission approval in May 2019 to provide in-kind cybersecurity services without violating campaign finance law. DDC's service portfolio encompasses hardware security keys (YubiKey, Google Titan), DDoS and website protection (Cloudflare for Campaigns, Google Project Shield), email authentication via DMARC (Valimail), endpoint security (Elastic), mobile security (Lookout, Kryptowire), and incident-response guidance. In 2025 the organization co-developed the Secure AI Toolkit for Campaigns with Microsoft, addressing AI-adoption policy, deployment, and risk for political users.

The business model is donation- and in-kind-contribution-funded rather than revenue-generating: DDC itself does not charge campaigns, and the $2.9 million in cybersecurity services provided in 2024 (and $7.9 million cumulative since 2019) represents the value of services distributed to campaigns, not DDC's own revenue. Customer segments include federal political campaigns (presidential, congressional, national party committees) as the primary base, with state-level campaigns in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, and Virginia added through state-level Advisory Opinions. Distribution runs through direct campaign engagement plus a 17-company technology partner network. Operations are lean (1-10 employees), with leadership including President & CEO Michael Kaiser and co-founders Robby Mook and Matt Rhoades, anchored by a board featuring former NSA and DHS senior officials.

Name

Defending Digital Campaigns

Legal name

Defending Digital Campaigns, Inc.

Website

https://defendcampaigns.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Defending Digital Campaigns is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit 501(c)(4) that provides free enterprise-grade cybersecurity tools and services to eligible U.S. political campaigns under FEC approval, partnering with Microsoft, Google, Cloudflare, and others.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Campaign Cybersecurity Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Political Organizations (813940)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Security & Privacy Services (DLP, Encryption, Privacy Ops) (BPAKAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

DDoS Protection & Mitigation (HDADABAG), Email Data Loss Prevention & Encryption (HDADAKAD)

Keywords

• Campaign cybersecurity services
• Political campaign protection
• Election cybersecurity
• Nonprofit security clearinghouse
• Incident response guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Nonprofit Charitable Services: As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, DDC does not generate revenue from customers. The organization provides free and low-cost cybersecurity products and services to eligible political campaigns, funded through donations from technology partners and other supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Defending Digital Campaigns is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that provides free and low-cost cybersecurity products and services to eligible U.S. political campaigns. Under Federal Election Commission approval, DDC operates as a clearinghouse that distributes enterprise-grade security tools from major technology partners — including hardware security keys (Yubico, Google Titan), Cloudflare website/DDoS protection, Valimail email authentication, and Microsoft/Google endpoint security — along with incident response guidance and the Secure AI Toolkit for Campaigns.

Product overview

Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC) is a nonprofit organization that provides free and reduced-price cybersecurity products and services to eligible political campaigns. The offering is a coordinated platform of security tools delivered through partnerships with major technology companies: security keys (hardware authentication), Cloudflare website/DDoS protection, Valimail email authentication, and social media protection. The organization also provides comprehensive incident response guidance and, in partnership with Microsoft, developed the Secure AI Toolkit for Campaigns to guide political campaigns on secure AI adoption. DDC operates under Federal Election Commission approval and serves federal campaigns as well as state campaigns in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, and Virginia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Security Keys for Campaigns Free hardware security keys (YubiKeys, Google Titan Security Keys) provided to eligible political campaigns to implement the strongest account protections against phishing and account compromises. Works with Google, Microsoft, and other major platforms.
• Cloudflare for Campaigns Free DDoS protection and website security services for eligible political campaigns, providing business-level protections, customer support, and other services to prevent websites from being taken down, defaced, or having content changed.
• Valimail for Campaigns Free email domain protection and authentication services (DMARC configuration) to protect campaign domains from spoofing and impersonation, and to improve email deliverability.
• Social Media Protection Enhanced protection services for social media accounts to protect them from being hacked, including account security hardening and monitoring for eligible campaigns.
• Incident Response Process Guidance Comprehensive incident response process guidance and checklist for political campaigns experiencing cybersecurity incidents including pre-incident planning, internal/external team assembly, containment procedures for ransomware, business email compromise, hacking, and third-party incidents, law enforcement notification, and breach notification obligations.
• Secure AI Toolkit for Campaigns Security-first approach to AI adoption toolkit developed in collaboration with Microsoft, tailored for the unique needs of the political sector. Includes sections on AI opportunities and risks, key cybersecurity considerations before deploying AI, building AI use policies, AI deployment getting started guidance, and prompt writing best practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% of voters concerned about AI generated content being used to impersonate political candidates
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2020Microsoft provides its suite of Office and business products for campaigns at a discount, along with Azure cloud services and security tools. Part of Microsoft's Defending Democracy Program. DDC announced expanded partnership in January 2020 alongside other major tech companies.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2020Cloudflare provides Cloudflare for Campaigns - a business version of their product with DDoS protection, firewall protection, load balancing, and customer support at no added cost. Cloudflare had already provided services to 18 presidential campaigns before the expanded partnership.
• YubicocoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2020Yubico provides security keys (YubiKeys) for two-factor authentication. DDC already offered YubiKeys at reduced prices before the expanded January 2020 partnership announcement.
• GooglecoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2020Google provides free Titan Security Keys and access to Google Advanced Protection Program for campaigns. Google also offers Project Shield free DDoS protection for high-risk organizations including campaigns. Partnership enables campaigns to get security keys distributed through DDC.
• ElasticcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2020Elastic provides free monitored Elastic Endpoint Security to presidential and congressional campaigns. The Elastic Security team provides supported deployment of endpoint protection solution.
• ValimailcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2020Valimail provides email authentication and DMARC configuration services to protect campaign domains from spoofing and improve email deliverability. Partnership announced February 2024.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Internet Security Alliance: A nonprofit that advocates for and advises organizations on cybersecurity policy and practice. Comparable to DDC in its nonprofit advocacy-plus-tool-distribution mission serving a defined constituency.
• Global Cyber Alliance: A mission-driven nonprofit that builds and distributes practical cybersecurity toolkits to small organizations and underserved communities. Compares closely to DDC as a nonprofit builder/distributor of free cyber resources targeting resource-constrained users.
• Cyber Threat Alliance: A nonprofit industry ISAC that shares threat intelligence across member security vendors. Closely comparable to DDC as a nonprofit member-funded clearinghouse, though CTA's product is intelligence rather than security tooling.
• MS-ISAC (Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center): An information-sharing and analysis center serving U.S. state, local, tribal, and territorial governments with free cybersecurity services and threat intel. Closely comparable to DDC in target constituency (government/political entities), nonprofit-clearinghouse structure, and free in-kind delivery.
• National Cyber Security Alliance: A nonprofit focused on public-facing cybersecurity awareness and education, including free resources for businesses and individuals. Comparable to DDC's awareness-and-toolkit-distribution orientation, though operating at consumer scale rather than political-sector scale.
• Center for Internet Security: A nonprofit that curates and distributes security best practices and tools to a broad member base of organizations. Highly comparable to DDC in operating model: a clearinghouse that delivers donated or shared security capabilities to eligible members.

Broad incumbents

• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): The U.S. federal civilian cyber and infrastructure security agency, which runs complementary election-security work and provides free tools to election offices. Adjacent mission and constituency, but as a federal agency rather than a nonprofit clearinghouse.

Emerging players

• Belfer Center Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P): Harvard Kennedy School initiative that originated DDC and continues to publish research and playbooks on political-sector cyber defense. Direct conceptual predecessor and ongoing collaborator; narrower in scope (research-led) but overlapping in target audience and content.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@defendcampaigns

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Defending Digital Campaigns