Cyber Crime Is An Increasing Risk For Charities

The British regulator the Charity Commission has warned that smaller charities are more vulnerable to cybercrime and this is because they are more likely to have older trustees, who’s understanding of cyber and the issues surrounding it is very low. 

The research, commissioned by the Charity Commission and in partnership with the Fraud Advisory Panel, said that almost a quarter (22 percent) of respondents believe cyber crime is a greater risk to the charity sector than other sectors. Larger charities are generally more likely to appreciate the risk of cyber-crime and take action to prevent it.

The report predicts that one in six large charities will be victim to cybercrime in the next two years. It emphasises that many charities will fall victim to cyberattacks without ever realising. It adds that 3 per cent of charities are known to have suffered a successful cyberattack in the past two years.  

• The report also says charities are four times more likely to discover cybercrime through internal IT controls or from staff raising concerns than by all other external sources combined.
• Less than a third of charities were found to be reporting cybercrimes to the police, while a quarter reported the crime to their bank.32 per cent did not report the cybercrime to anyone outside their organisation.
• Over a third of charities that had suffered a cybercrime said it had no impact on the organisation.
• Of charities that suffered negative consequences from an attack, 19 per cent reported financial loss and 15 per cent reported loss of data.
• More than half (58 percent) of charities think cyber-crime is a major risk to the charity sector, according to new research into the fraud and cyber-crime risks facing charities.
• Nearly half of the 3,300 charities surveyed in partnership with the Fraud Advisory Panel said their board had overall responsibility for cybersecurity.
• Meanwhile, nearly 500 charities said that no one was responsible for cybercrime at their organisation.

The Commission’s advice is that charities should clarify who is responsible for their cybercrime risks and make it a governance priority for the board.

• Charities see phishing and malicious emails as the greatest cyber-threat (39 percent), followed by hacking/extortion (15 percent) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks (two percent).
• Over a third (36 percent) of charities don’t know which type of cyber-attacks they’re most vulnerable to. And nearly half of charities state that the Board has overall responsibility for cyber-security, whilst 15 percent state nobody has responsibility. For the remainder, nominated trustees, chief executives, or IT and finance directors have this responsibility.

Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said that charities, like other organisations, rely increasingly on digital technology to deliver on their purposes.

"It is therefore vital that charities take reasonable steps to strengthen their systems against those intent on causing harm. Protecting a charity in this area is not just about systems or financial assets, but also about people: charities hold sensitive data on beneficiaries, staff and volunteers, and have a responsibility to keep that data safe," she said.

Alongside the findings of the surveys, the Commission is launching a new pledge designed to help charities protect themselves. It is encouraging charities to adopt ‘Tackling Charity Fraud - Eight Guiding Principles’, a collective mission statement which the Commission has developed in partnership with the Fraud Advisory Panel. 

In related news, the release of the latest annual Crime Statistics in England and Wales has revealed a decline in computer misuse and computer virus offences. While computer viruses fell by 27 percent in the last year, to 442,000 offences, incidents involving unauthorised access to personal information, including hacking, did not change significantly and there were 535,000 offences.

Charity Commission:           SC Magazine:               Civil Society:          Image: Nick Youngson

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