Positive news: cyber security in the sector

Cyber attacks are a real threat to charities, and with the shift to remote working since the pandemic, that threat is even greater. But there’s lots of good news emerging around cyber security. We take a look.

Why charities need to be cyber security savvy

It might sound obvious, but charities need to be cyber security aware. A cyber attack can be costly, with a loss of reputation, revenue, and productivity – let alone the financial costs of fixing the cyber security breach.

And, according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 26% of charities faced a security breach in 2020, with high-income charities being the hardest hit at 51%. 

Through the pandemic, vast numbers of charity workers switched to home working, almost overnight. With more employees signing into systems remotely, and two thirds of charities saying that staff regularly use their personal devices for work, the risk of being victim to a cyber attack has increased for many organisations.

While smaller charities may feel they’re not at risk, according to the NCSC, in the UK 38% of micro and small organisations experienced a cyber security breach in 2020. And, of those who lost data or assets, the average loss was £8170 – no small sum for the size of organisations affected.

Sector-specific information published by NCSC

Many smaller charities and organisations tend not to have an IT department, let alone an in-house cyber security professional. So, in May 2021, the National Cyber Security Centre launched a new online learning programme specifically for small businesses and charities.

Put together with a non-technical audience in mind, the accessible training programme aims to help charities reduce the likelihood of being victim of a cyber attack. The training can be easily rolled out for colleagues to work through, or if your charity has its own training platform, the programme can be integrated into it and content tweaked to make it bespoke to your audience.

Colleagues will learn about: backing up data; protection against malware; securing devices used by employees; creating strong passwords; and how to defend against phishing. It only takes around 30 minutes to complete, so is a simple way to get all staff, including volunteers, on the ball when it comes to cyber security.

And the best news – it’s free.