Bezawit Benyam
My Cybersecurity Training
National Reentry network
Quick Facts
The National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrate into their families, workplaces, and communities.
The organization provides employment readiness, housing support, peer navigation, financial literacy, restorative justice programs, and advocacy that promote long term stability.
Its mission is to build a strong national network of returning citizens who support one another in achieving successful reintegration and reducing recidivism.
By combining direct services, community advocacy, and evidence based reentry programs, the organization empowers returning citizens to rebuild productive and independent lives.
National Reentry network
About the Organization
The National Reentry Network is committed to helping returning citizens overcome barriers to employment, housing, education, and community engagement following incarceration.
Through workforce development, peer mentoring, supportive housing, financial literacy training, workers' rights education, and restorative justice initiatives, the organization equips participants with the resources needed to achieve long term success. The organization also advocates for policies that promote fairness, opportunity, and successful reintegration.
By strengthening self sufficiency and reducing barriers to reentry, the organization helps individuals rebuild their lives while creating safer and healthier communities.
National Reentry network
Community Involvement
The National Reentry Network works closely with returning citizens, peer navigators, employers, volunteers, legal advocates, and community organizations to provide comprehensive reentry support. The organization encourages collaboration through mentorship, workforce development, and community based programming.
The organization partners with groups including the Public Welfare Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Council for Court Excellence, Public Defender Service, Washington Lawyers Committee, and numerous community organizations to expand services and advocacy for returning citizens. These partnerships strengthen employment opportunities, legal support, housing access, and community reintegration.
Through strategic partnerships and volunteer engagement, the organization continues to improve outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals while advancing criminal justice reform nationwide.
National Reentry network
Sources of Funding
The National Reentry Network is funded through individual donations, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, government supported initiatives, and community partnerships that advance its mission of supporting returning citizens.
The organization also receives financial support from philanthropic foundations, community organizations, and strategic partners that help expand workforce development, housing, peer navigation, and advocacy programs.
Funding is used to provide employment services, supportive housing, financial literacy education, restorative justice initiatives, peer mentoring, and community programs that help formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrate into society.
My Security Presentation
During the Cybersecurity & Defense Internship, I worked with Beth Cerrone and Jamie Kreider to learn the basics of cybersecurity and explore its practical applications.
Throughout the week, I worked with a nonprofit to develop cybersecurity solutions to protect against various cyber threats. I worked with my team to analyze the threats to the organization and then developed a comprehensive solution.
At the conclusion of this internship, our team pitched the final proposal to the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee, earning a microgrant to support the implementation of our proposal.
My Security Proposal Presentation
Throughout the program, we worked closely with the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens to gain a clear understanding of its goals and the digital systems supporting its work. These meetings provided valuable insight into how the organization processes donations and protects information belonging to the individuals and communities it serves. Because the organization handles sensitive personal and financial information, maintaining secure systems is particularly important to preserving client and donor trust.
The most pressing customer-facing issue is the organization’s current website-based donation system. Donations are processed through PayPal or credit card, while donor names and email addresses are collected and stored through the website. Because the organization identified its website as one of its greatest cybersecurity concerns, a successful attack could expose donor information alongside other website data, creating unnecessary risk for individuals financially supporting the organization.
To address this issue, we proposed replacing the existing donation process with Donorbox. Rather than storing donor information directly through the organization’s website, Donorbox would provide a dedicated third-party system for processing and protecting donation information. Implementation would involve removing the existing donation form and integrating Donorbox into the website through its API, allowing donor information to be handled through a platform specifically designed for this purpose. This solution would also cost the organization nothing, allowing additional cybersecurity resources to be directed toward internal improvements. By reducing the amount of donor information stored through the website, the organization can limit the potential consequences of a website compromise while creating a safer and more streamlined donation experience.
Internship Highlights
I was given the unique opportunity to take exclusive tours of multiple government and security sites to speak directly with security professionals. During these tours, I was able to witness firsthand how cybersecurity operates at the national and international level.
I was able to visit the United States’ Security Innovation Lab. Throughout this visit, I was able to learn firsthand from government officials regarding how the government funds and establishes cyber-intelligence and cyber-counterintelligence technology.
We also toured the Homeland Security Investigations' (HSI) Technical Operations Center. During this visit, we learned how the government uses technology to track major crimes including wire-fraud, human trafficking, child exploitation, and more.
In order to apply the skills I learned throughout the internship, I worked directly with an organization based in the Washington, D.C. area, National Reentry network, to discuss their company's cybersecurity needs.
After three meetings where I walked through the organization model, protected information, and staff training of the nonprofit, I worked with my team to create a staff training protocol and threat analysis for my partner.
At the end of the internship, I advocated on behalf of, and received funding for, my organization partner to implement the cybersecurity training protocols so they can best protect their client information and continue to develop with a reduced fear of cyberattacks and cybersecurity threats.
To learn more about the world of cybersecurity, I was given the unique opportunity to speak directly with cybersecurity experts from multiple organizations and backgrounds.
I worked directly with one of the leading consultants in Cyber Threat Management, and a lead Cyber Consultant from Ernst & Young, Phuong Nguyen, to learn about common threat assessment and cybersecurity counterintelligence. I also heard from the Director of Government Compliance for KPMG, Lisa Mathews, and a former Department of Justice Prosecutor, Brian Levine.
Throughout the internship, I also heard presentations from and spoke with representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Security Agency. To learn the physical side of cybersecurity, we also had the unique opportunity to meet with globally recognized penetration testers and network threat assessors.
In order to put the skills we learned to the test, I had the unique opportunity to work with cybersecurity software typically used in graduate-level instructional courses. This provided me with a hands-on environment to develop and apply a wide range of cybersecurity skills.
I began with network cybersecurity, completing labs focused on network security and Linux to gain a deeper understanding of how networks communicate and where vulnerabilities may arise. This experience highlighted the ways in which cybersecurity threats can disrupt or compromise these communications, reinforcing the importance of proactive defense measures.
Building on these Linux skills, I participated in capture-the-flag coding competitions and explored virtual rooms designed to simulate real-world cybersecurity challenges. These activities tested both my technical abilities and problem-solving skills, allowing me to apply classroom concepts in practical, scenario-based settings.