In an increasingly digital world, charities, from small community groups to larger national organisations, rely heavily on online systems to deliver services, engage supporters, and manage sensitive data. However, this digital presence brings cyber threats with it.
In our latest blog, Michael Jones, Partner at Bevan Buckland, discusses simple and practical steps that can make a meaningful difference in protecting your charity from cyber threats.
Recent surveys indicate that almost one in three charities experienced some form of cybersecurity breach or attack over the past year. A harsh reminder that cyber risk is not theoretical, it’s real and can happen to anyone.
In my experience advising charities on governance and risk, one of the biggest misconceptions is that cybersecurity requires complex systems or significant technical resources to be effective. In reality, organisations of all sizes can strengthen their digital resilience. The good news is that straightforward steps can significantly improve your charity’s resilience to cyber threats.
1. Make Cyber Security Part of Your Charity’s Routine
Cybersecurity should never be treated as a one-off project or considered only after an incident has occurred. Trustees have both legal and ethical responsibilities to protect the charity’s assets. This includes digital systems, data, and the charity’s reputation.
Embedding cyber risk into your charity’s routine governance processes is a practical first step. This means recognising cyber security as a standing item within your organisational risk register, ensuring it is reviewed regularly, and discussing it at board level.
Charities can make use of trusted external resources to support this process. NCSC’s Board Toolkit, for example, is designed specifically to help boards and trustees understand cyber threats in plain language, clarify governance responsibilities, and ask the right questions of staff or external IT providers. Using structured guidance like this can turn what may feel like a technical issue into a manageable governance discussion.
2. Empower Your Team with Awareness and Training
Your staff and volunteers are on the front line. Cyber attackers often exploit human behaviour to gain access. They can use various simple methods, including phishing emails, suspicious links, and social engineering, rather than sophisticated technical hacking methods.
Providing basic training and regular reminders to your team can help them spot risks before they become incidents. I would recommend implementing regular awareness sessions for staff and volunteers, internal news on emerging threats, such as phishing or ransomware, and scenario exercises to practice responses to common attacks.
3. Follow NCSC’s Five Essential Areas from Their “Small Charity Guide”
The NCSC have produced a “Small Charity Guide” which provides a free, actionable way to help small voluntary organisations. The guide highlights five baseline actions that can drastically reduce your vulnerability. The first is ensuring that essential data is saved and can be restored. Second, install and maintain reputable anti-malware tools. Third is keeping laptops, tablets, and phones secure with updated security settings, and fourth is protecting these devices with strong, unique passwords. Lastly, avoiding phishing attacks by educating your team about scam emails, texts and websites.
By focusing on these five foundational areas, charities can make meaningful improvements to their cyber resilience without high cost or complexity. Often, it is the consistent application of simple measures that provides the strongest defence.
4. Plan for a Potential Cyber Attack
Even with the right preventative measures in place, no organisation is completely immune to cyber risk. Having a clear, practical response plan can significantly reduce the impact of an incident and help your charity recover more quickly.
Start by identifying who is responsible for managing a cyber incident and ensure roles are clearly defined. Your plan should outline immediate steps, such as isolating affected systems, preserving evidence, and communicating with key stakeholders, including trustees, staff, beneficiaries, and, where personal data is involved, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
It is also important to consider reputational management. Transparent and timely communication can help maintain trust with donors and service users. Testing your response plan periodically, through simple tabletop exercises at board level, can highlight gaps and build confidence in how your charity would respond under pressure.
Preparation does not eliminate risk, but it does put you in control of how you manage it.
5. Use Available Tools and Frameworks
Charities do not need to start from scratch when building their cyber resilience. There is a range of trusted, free resources available to support you.
The National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Essentials scheme provides a clear framework for implementing fundamental technical controls and demonstrates to stakeholders that your charity takes cyber security seriously. Achieving certification can also provide reassurance to funders and partners.
In addition, the Charity Commission’s guidance on internal financial controls and risk management reinforces the importance of digital safeguards as part of broader governance responsibilities. Many insurers also provide cyber risk guidance and support as part of their policies, which can be a valuable added resource.
Key Takeaways
Ultimately, safeguarding your charity in a digital world is about embedding good habits, strengthening governance, and using practical tools already available. By taking proportionate, manageable steps, trustees can help protect not only data and systems, but also the trust that underpins every successful charity.
If you would like to find out more about safeguarding your charity or discuss any risk or governance concerns, please call us on 01792 410100 or email mail@bevanbuckland.co.uk.
