Qualys, Inc. helps us to expand our service to more victims

June 14, 2023 Rory Innes

We are delighted to announce today that Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) has joined our mission to help us expand our free support for individuals and families affected by cybercrime and online harm. Qualys’ partnership will help our charity grow the number of volunteers that we can recruit and manage, as well as provide Qualys staff with the ability to volunteer their time and expertise. The impact of this partnership will be a huge increase in the number of victims we can support.

Founded by the cyber security community to fill the huge gap in support for victims of cybercrime and online harms, The Cyber Helpline’s unique model allows it to harness the skills and expertise of the cyber security community through volunteering and help thousands of victims a month by providing a free, confidential helpline for individuals and sole traders. The Cyber Helpline team is currently staffed by over 120 volunteers and six members of staff.

Not enough is being done to support victims of cybercrime and online harm. The impact on victims is devastating and often includes loss of online confidence, impact on mental health, financial loss and threats to personal safety. The Cyber Helpline was created because we could see huge gaps in support for victims of online crime, and we wanted to engage with the IT security industry to provide that assistance and expertise. We help victims understand and recover from cyber attacks by linking them with technology experts who can provide the right advice to maximise the chance of recovery and justice. Working with the team at Qualys will allow us to help more victims by recruiting and training more volunteers to join The Cyber Helpline, as well as funding the tools that they will use in their efforts.

Rory Innes, Founder & CEO, The Cyber Helpline

As a part of the partnership, Paul Baird, Chief Technical Security Officer at Qualys, joins The Cyber Helpline as an Ambassador. In this role, Baird will lead activities around raising awareness for the service, making individuals aware of the potential threats that exist, and ensuring more people know about the help offered to those affected by attacks. He will also increase engagement with the IT security community to encourage more volunteers to join.

Since The Cyber Helpline was created in late 2018 it has directly supported more than 30,000 victims and has provided online advice to more than 500,000 people. It currently opens around 2,000 cases per month. The demand for its services is growing rapidly, as cybercrime and online harms continue to grow unchecked.

The Cyber Helpline growth in numbers:

Since the launch demand for the service has more than doubled every year. The last 12 months saw a 177% year-over-year growth in new cases.
A surge in cost-of-living-related attacks has been seen in the past six months with job fraud, investment scams, loan scams and energy payment scam texts and emails growing at over 250%.
The top five issues dealt with by The Cyber Helpline in the past 12 months include sextortion, virtual currency scams, online harassment, cyberstalking and hacked social media accounts.

A huge thank you to the Qualys team for supporting out mission and standing on the side of victims of cybercrime and online harm!