Cybersecurity and Nonprofits: What You Need To Know

Do you run a nonprofit?

If so, you need to make sure your organization remains safe from cybersecurity breaches. Security threats abound in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. Many threats choose to target smaller businesses and nonprofits in particular since larger businesses tend to have better security.

Yet, security breaches can become especially ruinous for nonprofits. If the private information of your donors gets compromised, for example, people might not feel safe contributing to your cause. 

So, how do you ward off cybersecurity threats? And how can you recover your data if you experience one?

Keep reading to learn more!

Protecting Yourself from a Cybersecurity Threat

No one-size-fits-all technique exists for preventing cybersecurity breaches. As technology becomes more advanced, so do the methods for getting into an organization’s private information. Still, knowing the basics of keeping your data secure can prevent you from losing thousands, or perhaps millions, of dollars.

First, you should hire a cybersecurity expert to look over your current network and make suggestions. Some nonprofits already take some protective actions while overlooking others. As such, hiring a cybersecurity expert can help you.

Want to take some more protective measures on your own? First, check the security and privacy settings of all the platforms you use. Does the manufacturer encrypt the information stored there? If you have questions, contact the company.

Next, make sure all of your software remains updated. Businesses often include improved security in updates. If you have old software, you run the risk of a data breach.

Finally, make sure every computer and account has a strong password. Too many data breaches occur because people put in easy-to-guess passcodes. For the best results, make your passwords a combination of capitalized and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. 

Recovering Your Data

So, what should you do once you have suffered from a cybersecurity attack?

You will need to recover any data you lost. To ensure you have the ability to do this, make backups of your data. That way, you won’t lose anything crucial to your organization should something go awry. 

You should also have each device undergo periodic malware scans. This helps you deal with viruses and spyware before they can cause extensive damage. 

Purchasing cybersecurity insurance for your nonprofit helps you lessen your damages when an attack occurs. You pay a monthly premium for this insurance, and in turn, you get money if a cybersecurity threat happens. For some companies, these funds save them from going under.

Want to Safeguard Your Data?

The difference between a crippling cybersecurity attack and keeping information safe comes down to what kinds of data protection nonprofit organizations have. 

Learning security and data recovery nonprofit techniques, then, should become the priority of every nonprofit owner. By following the advice above, you will stand a better chance against cybersecurity threats.

Do you want professional data security help? Let our team help. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you!