We hate to tell you this, but… 

Cyber security needs to be at the forefront of your business. Over the pandemic, there has been a spike in cyber crime and that’s why – now more than ever – you need to make sure that you’re protecting your data and ensuring that everything is secure online. Yes, we’re talking to you – whether you’re a customer, charity, small business, or larger business – cybersecurity is fundamental to any online platform. 

But, today, we’re specifically talking to charities. Why is that? Think about the main functions of a charity: fundraising, donations, liaising with corporations. This is why charities may be targeted, because of the amount of fundraising money, donations from the public, and shared data with other corporations. But, don’t worry because we have the best cybersecurity tips for the charity sector. 

The charity sector needs to protect their data because… 

As we’ve said before, the charity sector holds a lot of sensitive data and also a lot of funds from the donations that they receive. That means that they are easily targeted because of the sheer amount of data that’s held. The kind of cyber attacks that you need to look out for are phishing, malware and ransomware, because they are all risks to your organisation. 

How the charity sector can protect their data

There are a few different things that you can consider to make sure that you have the basic cyber security to protect your charity. They are smaller tasks that will give long term assurance for the ultimate cyber protection.  

Passwords

Make sure that you have a secure password so that hackers can’t guess it and steal any personal data. If you have any personal data like your birthday, pet name, friends name on your social media, then your password may be easily guessed if it relates to it. Make sure that your password can’t be guessed in this respect. To make your password extra strong, choose one that isn’t a word that’s in the dictionary. Hackers can spend a lot of time trying to crack passwords to your personal data, so it’s imperative that you pay attention to the kind of passwords that you are choosing to be completely cyber secure. 

Be vigilant 

One of the things that you need to be consistent with is being vigilant whilst being online. When you get any emails, texts or links through, watch out for anything that doesn’t look quite legitimate. Double check any emails or texts that you get through and cross check the source that it has come from by looking at the information of the sender. It’s worthwhile to take an extra minute so that you’re not vulnerable to a phishing attack, malware or ransomware. 

Educate staff 

The more awareness that everyone in your charity has about online safety, the safer your data will be. It will lower the risk of you being the victim of cyber crime, because if you know what to look out for, then you’re less likely to click on anything that’s illegitimate. Tell your staff what to look out for when they are online, in case of phishing emails or any malicious software. The more people that are educated, the more protection that you will have from cyber attacks; you could set up regular meetings, training sessions or have a checklist available for your staff to read if they’re unsure. 

Importance of cybersecurity in the charity sector

We always say how important cyber security is in any instance and in any industry. But, there’s many reasons why the charity sector could be more vulnerable when it comes to cyber attacks, which is why you need to make sure that you have the right precautions in place. Taking the basic steps towards cyber security will benefit you in the long term so that you are extra secure when it comes to your online safety. So, what are your first cyber security precautions? 

We also have a podcast episode on this topic with our Managing Director, Ben Sefton. You can click here to listen to it and learn more. 

Say hello and have a chat with us, we can provide cyber security consultancy and provide advice for your charity!