It’s a scary fact to know that nearly half of all UK organisations suffered a cyber breach or attack within the past 12 months, with the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2017 revealing that nearly seven in ten large organisations identified a breach.

2017 has been a year of increased security, and all organisations, including charities, are at risk. How can charities protect themselves? Here are some top tips on how charities can boost their cyber security.

Invest in Anti-Virus Software

This is a vital aspect of protecting your software. It’s easy to ignore the signs your computer gives out when stating their licenses are about to expire, or have expired, but this is an important part of a charity’s security. High quality and updated anti-virus can help charities with their online protection.

Keep Up to Date Software

Its highly important that, no matter what device charities are using, from phones to laptops to tablets, that technology is kept up to date; this is vital for both operating systems and installed software. With continuous updates, features are able to fix security vulnerabilities which appear. A great way charities can ensure this occurs is setting their systems, software and devices to ‘automatically update’.

Password Protection

The majority of software and devices will come with password protection, and this is essential for the user. Passwords must be strong to ensure charities have maximum security from any cyber breaches or attacks. It is also important to point out never to share passwords or online banking security codes with anyone over the telephone, preventing the risk of a breach.

Controlled Access

Its vitally important that charities control who has access to their data and services to minimise the potential damage that could occur if an account is misused or stolen. For important access to software, settings and online services, trusted individuals should be given access.

Here at Charity Retail Systems, we understand the importance of cyber protection for businesses, especially charities, and that’s one of the reasons why we offer the best retail systems to our customers. By keeping up with technology and up to date with the latest anti-virus software, you can be sure to keep on top of any cyber threats which may occur.

If you would like to find out more information about our services, and our strong support network, get in touch with a member of our friendly team today and find out how we can help your charity.