Center for Internet Security

Legal name: Center for Internet Security Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522278213
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
East Greenbush, NY, USA
Phone
5182663490
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Telecommunications

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$126,259,286
Expenses
$143,061,852
Assets
$83,630,555
Liabilities
$72,583,030

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN GILLIGAN (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • JOHN COHEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNTE)
  • LEE NORIEGA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CSO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN GILLIGAN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,241,181 total reported compensation
  • JOHN COHEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNTE): $640,871 total reported compensation
  • REGINA CHAPMAN (COO (FORMER)): $600,928 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

CIS is an independent, nonprofit organization with a mission to create confidence in the connected world.

What it reported doing in 2025

The ms-isac program provides a common mechanism for raising the level of cybersecurity readiness and response in each state and with local governments and u.s. Tribes and territories with the goal of improving the overall cybersecurity posture of u.s. State, local, tribal, and territorial (sltt) government entities. The ms-isac program collaborates and shares information with its sltt government members, private sector and federal government partners. The ms-isac program leverages trusted relationships with government and private sector entities to generate coordinated and actionable intelligence products to improve the security posture of all partners. The ms-isac also produces educational materials, manages workgroups made up of sltt members, and operates important national cyber security programs. The department of homeland security (dhs) discontinued funding for this program on september 29, 2025, at which time a fee-based membership model was implemented, where sltt member organizations pay a yearly membership fee to receive ms-isac benefits and services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 63.1%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.58; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.87; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 72.7% of revenue deployed · 63.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $90.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 26 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $19.7M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 28 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.