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Craig Newmark, the 71-year-old founder and former CEO of classifieds site Craigslist, is concerned about the potential cybersecurity risks in the US.
“The deal is, our country is now under attack,” he told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Brian Sozzi on the Opening Bid podcast (video above; listen below). “It’s not like I’m in the recruiting line after Pearl Harbor because my dad volunteered in the ’40s, but I think that’s what I should be doing.”
Newmark, who left the company in 2000 but remained in a role answering customer complaints, has forgone the financial reward after semi-retirement.
Instead, he founded Craig Newmark Philanthropies to invest primarily in projects to protect critical U.S. infrastructure from cyberattacks. He told Sozzi that he is now spending an additional $200 million to address the issue, on top of an initial $100 million commitment unveiled in September this year.
He encouraged other wealthy people to join him in the fight against cyber attacks.
“I tell people, ‘Hey, the people who protect us could use some help. The amounts of money are relatively small, so why not help,” he said.
Cybersecurity has had a banner year in the spotlight, with issues going beyond past annoyances where consumers simply have to change their passwords, call a credit bureau or cancel an account after a breach.
Last summer, a Microsoft (MSFT) Windows update with a defect affected 8.5 million computers. It resulted in flight cancellations and hampered health and payment services. Concerns arose about possible infrastructure attacks on a global scale, such as the Paris Olympics.
In October, utility American Water Works (AWK) announced a cybersecurity attack that temporarily shut down its customer portal and halted billing.
Shares of cybersecurity stocks have subsequently soared, with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and CyberArk Software (CYBR) up 38% and 53% year to date, respectively. Wall Street remains bullish on every stock, according to analyst recommendations and price target data from Yahoo Finance.
The global financial impact of cybercrime could reach $13.82 trillion by 2028, up from $9.22 trillion in 2024, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia estimates.
The need for municipalities and other government agencies to act rather than react remains paramount, Newmark warns.
“I think about this a lot,” Newmark said. “I started financing networks of smart volunteers who can help people protect infrastructure, in particular [for] the small businesses and utilities across the country that are responsible for most of our electricity supplies, transportation infrastructure, [and] food distribution.”
