• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

2

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow

1

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

2

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
TechFortune 500

Facebook Backs $1 Million Security Prizes and Anti-Election Hacking Group

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 26, 2017, 1:40 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Facebook wants to secure democracy.

The social media giant said Wednesday it would bankroll a new anti election-hacking group based within a think tank affiliated with Harvard University. The project, part of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and co-led by campaign managers for erstwhile presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, will attempt to prevent external actors (looking at you, Russia) from digitally attacking, interfering with, or otherwise influencing elections.

Alex Stamos, Facebook’s (FB) chief security officer and Fortune 40 Under 40 alum, announced that the company would contribute to the initiative during a keynote address at the Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas. The company said it would donate $500,000 to the group, which is staffed with advisors from the private sector—such as Facebook, Google (GOOG), and Crowdstrike—as well as former U.S. government officials.

“We’re basing this on other industries, like finance and health care, which have done a great job building out ISACs,” Stamos tells Fortune, using an industry acronym that refers to “information sharing and analysis centers,” organizations where competitors come together to swap intel, tools, warnings, and best practices in the interest of collective defense.

“If there is an attack in an industry, other members are made aware of it,” Stamos says. “We don’t have an equivalent for our democracy, and I think it’s important to build that as a standalone nonprofit.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Everyone should be familiar, by now, with the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusions that Russian agents infiltrated the computer networks of political parties, campaign officials, and state and local election boards last year. That was in addition to how the agents waged bot-fueled disinformation campaigns, not least of all on Facebook, to sway public opinion. Since then, similar stunts have been performed in France, Germany, and elsewhere.

In the past few months, Facebook has been unveiling tools, such as a fact checking alert, to combat fake news for its 2 billion monthly users. Since the beginning of the year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also been touring the country, getting to know the American electorate.

In addition to the non-profit sponsorship, Facebook said it plans to re-up its 3-year-old Internet Defense Prize, an award for defensive cybersecurity research, with an additional $1 million in funding that will be divvied up among a crop of winners next year. The company said it is also funding scholarships aimed at increasing diversity within the information security industry.

As part of that effort, Facebook is developing a cybersecurity course with CodePath, a group that teaches tech skills, it said. Schools involved include The City College of New York, Hofstra University, Merritt College, Mississippi State University, California State University San Bernardino, and Virginia Tech.

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

EU says TikTok failed to shield minors’ accounts from adults, exposing kids to predators
CybersecurityTikTok
EU says TikTok failed to shield minors’ accounts from adults, exposing kids to predators
By Sam McNeil and The Associated PressJuly 24, 2026
3 hours ago
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping shaking hands
PoliticsChina
China adds 14 European firms to export control list in tit-for-tat over EU’s Russia sanctions
By The Associated PressJuly 24, 2026
3 hours ago
t
EnergyWhite House
Trump promises cheaper power from data centers. Analysts say bills could jump 40%
By Josh Boak, Matthew Daly and The Associated PressJuly 24, 2026
5 hours ago
sk
LawSouth Korea
South Korea’s ‘divorce of the century’ results in order for SK chair to pay ex-wife $640 million
By The Associated PressJuly 24, 2026
5 hours ago
brockman speaks on stage
AIOpenAI
OpenAI President says rogue AI attack on Hugging Face ‘is indicative of the times we are in’ as the company continues to investigate incident
By Emily ForliniJuly 24, 2026
5 hours ago
craig
CommentaryPharmaceutical Industry
Big pharma’s patent cliff meets a new biotech Cold War: We need to outrun China, not outlaw it
By Craig GarthwaiteJuly 24, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
Big Tech
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
By Sydney LakeJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
2 days ago
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Economy
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Economy
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
By Eleanor PringleJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”
Personal Finance
Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”
By Joshua HongJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of July 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.