Los Angeles partnership launches platform to help people catch phishes

Enlarge / The City of Los Angeles is getting some help from a DHS-funded nonprofit in the fight against phishing. (credit: Getty Images)

The relentless march of ransomware, business email compromises, and other attacks against small private and public organizations over the past few years has demonstrated the hazard of operating below the information security poverty line-the point at which local governments, small and midsize businesses, and other institutions lack the expertise and budget required to implement basic computer and network security best practices needed to protect the organizations against cybercrime.

So on September 17, a Los Angeles-based cybersecurity nonprofit organization unveiled a new effort to help end that cycle, at least locally. Partnering with IBM Security and enterprise intelligence management provider TruStar, LA Cyber Lab has launched two initiatives to help organizations spot and stop malware and phishing attacks-a Web portal for sharing threat data and a mobile application targeted at helping small businesses detect and avoid email-based attacks like spear phishing.

LA Cyber Lab, a 501(c) nonprofit organization, received $3 million in funding from the US Department of Homeland Security in 2017. The organization is a "private-public partnership," LA Cyber Lab executive director Joshua Belk told Ars, "which works with the City of Los Angeles and the business committee of the Greater Los Angeles area." The lab's mission is helping Los Angeles area organizations "protect themselves and be more aware of cyberattacks and just different things that are happening in that realm," Belk explained.

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