Cyber Security Update For Charities

Identifying the risks and learning how to avoid them

The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023 found that around a quarter of charities had reported being a victim of a cyber breach or attack in the preceding 12 months. Different charities will of course have different levels of cyber use and risk depending on the activities they are carrying out, but almost all use emails, databases or online drives to some extent. More and more activities and services are being offered digitally, including fundraising, which makes the topic of cyber security more important than ever before.

What are the risks of a cyber security breach?

1. Fraud: either directly against the charity (someone holding themselves out as an individual or organisation the charity deals regularly with) or the fraudsters holding themselves out as the charity to donors or beneficiaries, which may lead to financial loss for either the charity, donors or beneficiaries;