UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic

Digital Security for the Social Sector

The UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic is a trailblazing multidisciplinary, public-interest digital security clinic.

Social sector organizations, including journalists, human rights defenders, and social justice activists, face growing threats of cyberattacks, targeted surveillance, online harassment, and disinformation — typically without the same resources and institutional knowledge of large organizations.

The Cybersecurity Clinic empowers social sector organizations to use technology to fulfill their missions, defend against digital threats, and build durable digital capacity so they can drive social change. Students make a real‑world impact, gain broad cybersecurity skills, and learn how policy and societal contexts intertwine with people’s lives and broader social impacts.

Prospective Students

The UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic is training the next generation of digital security leaders. By engaging students from varying backgrounds and disciplines with a hands-on approach, we encourage a diverse group to pursue careers in public-interest technology.

The UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic shows students that they don’t have to choose between a career in technology or a career in the public interest. They can do both.

More information and application

CYBER 289
(MICS students only)

INFO 289
(all other UC Berkeley students)

Clinic student participants will be chosen by application.

What We Do

Defend Vulnerable Organizations

We offer custom, long-term client engagements to build the digital capacity of social sector organizations and provide them with the tools and knowledge to proactively defend themselves against digital threats.

Train Digital Security Leaders

Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic students are the next generation of digital security leaders. Students from varying backgrounds and disciplines are empowered to pursue careers in public-interest technology, expanding the cybersecurity workforce. Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic students don’t have to choose between a career in tech or a career in the public interest. They can do both.

“The I School and Citizen Clinic have given me the skills and confidence to be a better advocate for users and socially conscious products. I’m excited to bring this knowledge to my new role.”

– Lily Lin
 Cybersecurity Clinic alumna
Product Manager, Microsoft