Charities must protect themselves from the potentially “devastating” consequences of cyber crime, a government agency has warned.
This could include cyber criminals posing as volunteers to infiltrate charities or even being targeted by foreign states, according to the National Cyber Security Centre.
About 30 per cent of charities suffered cyber attacks in 2021, the most recent government research shows.
In a paper published today, the NCSC said charities would be more vulnerable to cyber crime than private firms and public bodies if overstretched staff and volunteers did not have time to “absorb security procedures”.
It also argued that charities could be exposed to criminals if they underinvested in cyber protection in order to fund frontline services.
Writing in the same paper, Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said work to “stay secure online is not an optional extra for trustees, but a core part of good governance”.
She added that the impact of a cyber attack on a charity could be “devastating, not just for the organisation and those who rely on its services, but also in undermining public confidence and support”.
The NCSC said that, although charities were mostly vulnerable to mass cyber attacks that targeted all sectors indiscriminately, voluntary bodies should be especially careful about what it called “insider threat”.
“Insiders are a risk to any organisation but charities may be more vulnerable due to a high turnover of staff, for example if a lot of volunteers are involved, and if there is limited staff training or security monitoring,” the paper said.
It also warned that, while it was unusual for cyber criminals working for foreign governments to target the voluntary sector, “the UK charities most at risk from nation state attacks are those that operate either directly, or through local partner organisations, overseas”.
It added: “Others that could be at risk are those which play a role in helping formulate and deliver UK domestic and foreign policy.
“State actors, for example from China, have also used cyber techniques against UK institutions for intellectual property theft which is a risk for charities working on science or technology.”