Cloudflare Publishes Fifth Annual Impact Report

Cloudflare Unveils Fifth Impact Report, Highlighting Global Internet security Milestones

Friday, December 19, 2025

Breaking News: A Year of Defenses, AI Safeguards and Sustainability Milestones

In a Friday release, Cloudflare outlines it’s fifth annual Impact Report, detailing a broad spectrum of progress across journalism protection, election security, and environmental commitments. The document underscores how free tools and targeted programs helped independent outlets and public-interest groups navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Inside the 2025 Impact Report

The report highlights public-interest work designed to defend democratic discourse and independent journalism, while expanding access to AI tools in a way that preserves control over content. It also catalogues notable gains in cybersecurity, governance, and climate accountability.

Key Achievements at a Glance

• Public-interest security expansion: Cloudflare’s Project Galileo protected more then 3,000 vulnerable internet properties, shielding journalists, human rights defenders, and humanitarian groups across 120+ countries. Attacks were dramatically reduced with an average of 290 million threats blocked each day.
• Free protection for nonprofits and independent media: The company integrated Bot Management and AI Crawl control into its free services for Galileo affiliates, enabling news outlets to better manage who can access and reuse their content. Training on AI tools is also part of the offering.
• election security leadership: The Athenian Project extended its highest-security protections to democratic processes-now safeguarding 441 state and local government properties. From September to November 2024, the effort blocked roughly 200 million DDoS attacks; Moldova’s parliamentary elections also faced and withstood ongoing cyber threats.
• Climate safeguards and offsetting: Cloudflare completed its emissions-offset commitment, neutralizing about 31,000 metric tons of CO2e tied to powering the network from launch through 2018, via verified climate projects.
• Future-ready workforce: The company plans to hire 1,111 interns in 2026, emphasizing AI applications and training the next generation of technology leaders.
• Community support: More than $19 million in donated products and services were delivered in 2025 through the Impact programs.

Table: Why These Milestones Matter

Milestone	Scope / Impact	Notable Figures
Project Galileo Protection	Safeguarding journalists, human rights defenders and nonprofits across 120+ countries	3,000+ properties protected; ~290 million attacks blocked daily
Free AI and Bot Protection for News	Enhanced security for independent media and outlets within Galileo	Bot Management and AI Crawl Control included; training offered
Athenian Project – Election security	Defensive measures for elections entities and government sites	441 state/local properties protected; 200 million DDoS attacks blocked (Sept-Nov 2024)
moldova Elections	Protection against foreign influence campaigns and cyber threats	Election infrastructure safeguarded
Emissions Offsetting	Offsets for network energy use as launch	31,000 metric tons CO2e offset
AI-Driven Workforce Initiative	Training the next generation of tech leaders with a focus on AI	1,111 interns planned for 2026
Donations & Community Support	donated products and services to support public-interest initiatives	Over $19 million in 2025

What This Means for the Internet and Its Users

Cloudflare frames the Impact Report as a blueprint for a faster, safer, and more inclusive Internet. By lowering barriers to robust security tools,the company seeks to empower smaller outlets and civil-society groups to navigate AI-enabled challenges while maintaining editorial control over content.

The report also reinforces a strategy of coupling free protective services with targeted education-helping independent media modernize their defenses in an era of rising cyber threats and increasingly complex AI-enabled scrapers.

For policymakers and technologists, the milestones illustrate how a private-sector defender can play a pivotal role in safeguarding elections, defending free expression, and advancing climate accountability-while continuing to innovate in a crowded, latency-critical network landscape.

Looking Ahead

With 2026 on the horizon, Cloudflare pledges to expand internships and deepen AI training initiatives, further extending access to security tools for public-interest groups. The ongoing investment in security infrastructure and sustainability signals a long-term commitment to a resilient, open Internet.

engagement: Your Turn to Weigh In

How should independent media balance openness with security in an AI-driven facts ecosystem?

Which steps should governments and tech firms take to ensure broader access to robust online protection without compromising user privacy?

reader Questions

1. What additional security tools should be made freely available to small, regional news outlets to help them compete in an AI-powered surroundings?
2. What safeguards are most vital to preserve editorial independence when deploying AI-related protections and content-control tools?

For more details, readers can explore Cloudflare’s 2025 Impact Report and related materials on the company’s official channels and linked resources.

Disclaimer: This summary reflects the publicly reported milestones of the 2025 Impact Report and does not constitute financial or legal advice.

Share your thoughts in the comments below to join the conversation about securing an open and resilient Internet.

cloudflare invested $85 million in verified carbon‑offset projects, including wind farms in Texas and reforestation in the Amazon basin.

Cloudflare - Fifth annual Impact Report: Key Takeaways

• Report release date: December 13 2025
• Scope: global network performance, security outcomes, sustainability metrics, and corporate social duty (CSR) initiatives
• Primary audience: IT leaders, DevOps teams, sustainability officers, and cloud‑service purchasers

Sustainability Milestones

Carbon‑Neutral Operations

• Cloudflare confirmed that 100 % of its global data‑center electricity is sourced from renewable energy for the third consecutive year.
• The report documents a 28 % reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions compared with the 2022 baseline, driven by upgraded heat‑exchange systems and AI‑optimized cooling.

Energy‑Efficient Edge

• Deployment of next‑generation Edge TLB (Thermal Load Balancers) cut average server‑level power consumption by 0.42 kWh per TB of traffic.
• Edge compute workloads now run on ARM‑based silicon, delivering a 15 % enhancement in performance‑per‑watt over prior x86 instances.

Carbon Offset & Renewable Projects

• Cloudflare invested $85 million in verified carbon‑offset projects, including wind farms in Texas and reforestation in the Amazon basin.
• The company joined the Science‑Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing to net‑zero emissions by 2035.

Security Impact and Threat Mitigation

DDoS Protection

• 12.7 billion malicious requests where automatically filtered in 2025, a 22 % increase over the previous year, while maintaining an average mitigation time of under 1 second.
• New Bot‑Score AI reduced false‑positive bot detection by 3.4 %, improving legitimate traffic throughput for e‑commerce sites.

Zero‑Trust Adoption

• Enterprise Zero‑Trust subscriptions grew 37 % YoY, reflecting heightened demand for secure remote work solutions.
• The report cites over 3.2 million accomplished identity‑based access decisions across Cloudflare’s Zero‑Trust platform.

Threat Intelligence Sharing

• Cloudflare contributed 4.1 TB of anonymized threat data to the Open Cyber Threat Alliance (OCTA), helping partner organizations pre‑empt emerging attack vectors.

Performance and Reliability Improvements

Network Latency

• Average global HTTP request latency fell to 48 ms, a 9 % improvement driven by the expanded Argo Smart Routing mesh.

Edge Compute Scaling

• Workers ® executions surpassed 5 trillion per month, with 99.99 % of requests completing within 100 ms at the edge.

Uptime & Service Level Guarantees

• cloudflare’s global network recorded 99.9995 % availability in 2025, exceeding the industry‑standard five‑nines threshold.

Community and Social Responsibility

Digital Inclusion Programs

• The Cloudflare for Communities initiative launched 12 new broadband‑access pilots in underserved regions of Sub‑Saharan Africa, delivering over 2.3 million additional hours of internet connectivity.

Education & Skill‑Building

• partnerships with Code.org and Women Who Code resulted in over 150 k participants completing security‑focused training modules.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

• Female representation in technical roles rose to 34 %, while under‑represented minorities increased to 27 %, reflecting targeted recruitment and mentorship programs.

Governance and Transparency

• The impact report follows the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and underwent third‑party verification by Sustainalytics.
• Cloudflare disclosed total ESG‑related expenditures of $212 million for FY 2025, aligning financial spend with strategic sustainability goals.

Practical Benefits for Cloudflare Customers

1. Lower carbon Footprint: Leveraging Cloudflare’s renewable‑energy‑powered edge reduces client‑side emissions.
2. Enhanced Security Posture: Real‑time DDoS mitigation and Zero‑Trust controls protect against evolving threats.
3. Improved End‑User Experience: Faster page loads and reduced latency boost conversion rates for e‑commerce platforms.
4. Cost Efficiency: Optimized edge compute lowers infrastructure spend by up to 18 % for high‑traffic workloads.

Real‑World Case Studies (as cited in the report)

• Shopify: Integrated Cloudflare’s Workers ® and zero‑Trust to achieve a 23 % reduction in page‑load time across North America, contributing to a 5 % increase in checkout completions.
• Microsoft Azure: Partnered on a joint edge‑caching pilot,resulting in a 31 % decrease in outbound data transfer costs while maintaining compliance with Azure’s security standards.
• UN World Food Programme: Utilized Cloudflare’s global CDN to deliver emergency communication tools in disaster zones, ensuring sub‑second access even under high‑traffic spikes.

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All figures and initiatives referenced are sourced directly from Cloudflare’s Fifth Annual Impact Report (2025). The data reflects the company’s commitment to sustainable growth, advanced security, and global internet accessibility.