The pandemic wreaked havoc in many areas of our lives. And one particularly worrying trend we saw was a huge increase in cyber crime. Just last year, 26% of charities fell victim to a cyber attack, proving no one is safe.
It’s essential to keep your charity as secure as possible to protect your reputation, your donor’s information and, of course, your staff too. So here are our top six tips for improving your charity’s online security.
Regularly train your staff
Eight out of ten charities say their staff have been the targets of a phishing attack. No employee or volunteer falls victim to them on purpose. All that you can do is make sure they’re well-trained. We recommend retraining staff every four to six months as research shows that, after six months, staff begin to forget best practices.
Change your passwords
Using long, randomised passwords, and changing them regularly, is one of the easiest and quickest ways to keep your charity secure. Aim to change them monthly. And make sure they’re complex. Many people still use names, places, and other words meaningful to them to create passwords, but these are easy to guess. Choosing a random, complex password makes it much harder for hackers to access any accounts.
Use multi-factor authentication where possible
Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security. If, for example, you’re required to tap a number on your mobile phone to access your emails, it means only you will be able to log in. Even if cyber criminals steal your password, they’ll struggle to access your account without access to your phone.
Ensure your phone is secure
More and more of us are using our phones for work, so it’s never been more important to ensure we’re using best practices to keep our phones secure. Start by setting up a password so only you can unlock your phone. Then lock your sensitive apps with different passwords. This way, you have two layers of security.
Consider switching to a cloud-based EPoS system
Cloud-based EPoS systems are more secure than server-based systems, in part because you don’t need to keep any hardware on-site. As well as this, cloud-based systems update regularly and automatically, keeping your data safe. Switching to a cloud-based EPoS system can give you that extra peace of mind.
Prepare a response plan
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to completely prevent your charity from falling victim to a cyber attack, so it’s a great idea to have a plan for if one happens. Linking back to the last tip, another benefit of choosing a cloud-based EPoS system is that it makes it that much easier to get back up on your feet when combined with cloud backup.
As cyber criminals become increasingly sophisticated in their methods, we need to step up our online security to have a fighting chance. That’s why, at the Charity Retail Association Conference, we’ll be launching CHARiot Web. This is our cloud-based EPoS solution designed to evolve with your to keep your charity as secure as possible from cyber criminals.
Curious to see what else CHARiot Web can do for your charity? Come and visit our stand at the Charity Retail Association Conference on the 9th and 10th of September. Or, get in touch with us today on 01204 706000.
