Nonprofit Organizations & Cybersecurity

Are nonprofit organizations really targets for hackers? Nonprofits accept donations and store financial information and personal data digitally, unfortunately making them susceptible to cyber breaches and likely targets of attack.

The February 2019 cyber-attack on People Inc., one of the largest nonprofit organizations in New York, serves as a reminder of just how vulnerable these entities can be. Client accounts containing contact information, social security numbers, financial details, medical data and government identification were all affected by People Inc.’s breach.

Nonprofits are vulnerable for a number of reasons, including a high number of vendor relationships, social engineering and a lack of an incident response or recovery plan. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) provides even more detail on security threats, as well as proactive solutions nonprofits can take to protect themselves and their donor base.

One of the first steps to help mitigate potential threats to your organization is a professional risk assessment. The experts at SST can help you through this process, as well as assist you in implementing business continuity and incident response plans. We can also provide tailored recommendations and teamwide cybersecurity trainings to reduce the risks posed by social engineering and phishing attacks.

For more information about cybersecurity prevention, or if you’re an existing client and would like to schedule a risk assessment, contact us today.

Special thanks to Operations Supervisor Ashley Henson for providing the content for this post.