The importance of maintaining a secure online presence is discussed with international non-profit Public Interest Registry (PIR) in Charity Digital’s most recent podcast.
Just like any other business or organisation, charities are at risk from cybercrime.
Having a recognisable, online presence is now the norm for most charities, and a website is an effective way to raise awareness of a charity’s efforts or its fundraising work.
But having an established identity on the web brings with it an element of risk, as online fraudsters, hacktivists or other bad actors have been known to, say, assume the image and reputation of a charity, creating fake fundraising sites
or other unlawful acts.
A charity’s website, or their social media platforms, are possibly their most visible online presence. In that respect, they are also potentially the most at risk to interference from bad actors.
However, a charity can avoid those risks by following a few sensible guidelines.
And, fortunately, some of the best practices for a charity’s safe online presence and digital footprint in the workplace can be as easy as some of the efforts individuals can do in their private lives.
Staff Training
Training your staff regularly, keeping them updated and aware of any recent digital scams is a good practice to make sure your online presence stays safe.
Through regular training and awareness, charity workers can gain confidence with what cyber security means for them and learn some valuable steps they can take to stay safe online.
The UK Government’s
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has various
resources and important steps which can
help staff and volunteers protect their organisation.
Passwords
Many of us could still be using names, places, and other words meaningful to us to create passwords. But most of the time these can be easy to guess.
By using long, randomised passwords (AND changing them regularly) a charity could easily and quickly keep on top of their online security, making it much harder for hackers to access any accounts.
Multi-factor Authentication
It could be something to consider where it is possible to put in place, but
multi-factor authentication can add that extra layer of security.
As an example, you could be required to tap a number on your mobile phone to access your emails, and this then means only YOU would be able to log in:
So, even if cyber criminals manage to steal your password, they still won’t be able to get into your account without access to your phone.
Secure your Phone
More and more, charity workers are starting to use their phones for the work they do, so it would be good practice to make sure they keep them secure.
Having a worker
set up a password to unlock their phone is a good start to stay secure. They could then lock their sensitive apps with different passwords; in that way, they’d have two layers of security.
Have a Response Plan (Incident Management)
With as many safeguards put in place to protect themselves against an attack online, a charity should still
have in place a set of responses or processes to follow should they fall victim.
Bad actors and hacktivists are constantly changing their methods and becoming more sophisticated in carrying out their disruption, so it would benefit a charity if they had a plan should any attack happen.
As an example, considering cloud-based systems - e.g. for Electronic Point of Sales (
EPos) - can be helpful as it can make it easier for charities to get back up and running, especially combined with cloud backup.
Keeping a charity as secure as possible is vital for protecting its reputation, its donor’s information and its staff too, so improving their online security can reduce the risk.
With help from international non-profit organisation
Public Interest Registry (pir.org),
Charity Digital’s recent podcast discuss the importance of maintaining a secure online presence.
Through their conversation, they explore the potential risks of neglecting security measures and share tips to keep charities safe online.
To
listen to the podcast, visit the Charity Digital
website.
MVA continues its efforts to provide coverage of local and national news and events from the Voluntary and Charity Sector.
If you would like to see coverage of specific news or subject to help your charity, your project, your community group or enterprise, you can get in touch by email at info@mva.org.uk, you can also contact MVA via the website.