Cyber-attacks have continued to be a significant risk for organisations across industry lines this past year—and care and charity organisations are no exception.
In fact, recent data from the Department for Digital, Media, Culture & Sport’s annual Cyber-security Breaches Survey found that over 30 per cent of businesses and 20 per cent of charities have experienced at least one data breach in the last 12 months, with the average cost totalling £4,180 per business - and a whopping £9,470 per charity.
As a result, 75 per cent of charities now rate cyber-security as a high priority within their organisation—significantly more than ever before. What’s more, care and charity organisations across the country have implemented a variety of top cyber-security measures to reduce their risk of attack.
Review these common controls to compare the effectiveness of your cyber-security programme and identify areas where you can improve:
- Cyber-security policies—More than a third of businesses and 36 per cent of charities have a formal policy or policies to address cyber-security risks.
- Board and Trustee involvement—More than 35 per cent of businesses and 30 per cent of charities have at least one board member or trustee that is responsible for cyber-security.
- Staff training—Nearly 30 per cent of charities reported training their staff members on cyber-security this past year.
As you can see, while numbers of businesses and charities that have formal procedures in place is increasing, the majority of those reviewed do not. This is worrying as the threat landscape will only continue to grow in the next few years.
With your business or charity statistically far more likely to be a victim of cybercrime than burglary, it's very important to have proper cyber-cover in place. The costs of cybercrime - whether financial or to your reputation - can be high, especially when dealing with confidential records and information.
For more information on affordable cyber cover, contact Bollington on 01625 348029.
