How Avast is making cyber security affordable for charities

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Around a quarter of charities in the UK (24%) experienced a cyber breach or threat between 2022 and 2023, according to research from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).  

While more than half of large charities (with an income of £500,000 or more) reported experiencing a cyber threat, organisations of any size can suffer a cyber breach, potentially resulting in financial damage and a halt to services. Among charities identifying any breaches or attacks, DSIT estimates that the single most disruptive breach from the 12 months cost each charity approximately £530. 

Looking after your cyber security – or, indeed, failing to do so – can be incredibly costly to charities. In our 2021 survey exploring the state of cyber security in the UK charity sector, cost was the biggest barrier to charities in equipping themselves with comprehensive cyber security, including password managers, patch management software, and endpoint protection.  

Fortunately, there are ways that charities can protect their data and enhance their cyber security on a budget. The Charity Digital Exchange offers a range of discounted cyber security products to eligible charities, with help from our partners Avast. Charities can save up to 80% on Avast software through the Exchange.  

At Charity Digital, we understand more than most the importance of looking after our cyber security. To hear more about Avast’s products, and how they can help charities, we spoke with Charity Digital’s very own Head of I.T., Siv Ananthakumar, who shares his expertise and experience in implementing cyber security technology that can mitigate the risk of cyber threats in future.  

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A charity I.T. expert’s experience with Avast 

All questions were answered by Charity Digital’s Head of I.T., Siv Ananthakumar. 

How much of a concern are cyber threats to Charity Digital? 

It is high on the list as would be for most modern organisations.  

Why did Charity Digital start using Avast? 

We are a partner of Avast and have exclusive pricing and partner level support. In addition, as we are a reseller, we need to understand and be able to support our customers with deployment and advice –what better way than to use it ourselves. 

How would you describe using Avast to someone who has never used it before? 

It is straightforward to deploy and configure whilst having the capability to be configured for advanced security needs such as ISO 27001. 

Are there any Avast features/tools that standout to you?  

Avast virus detection scores quite highly in independent tests. Patch management is useful if there is no in-house IT expertise to keep systems up to date. 

What are the pros and cons of using Avast? 

I really like the patch management, VPN, and content filtering features. Cons - mobile device management could be better. 

How confident do you feel in your cyber security with Avast? 

Quite Confident  

What score would you give the product overall and why? 

9/10 - Avast suite has components to cover most cyber security needs and is also compatible with Macs as well as Microsoft server operating systems. Cloud management means system administrators do not have to run a separate dedicated application/system to manage the suite.