Cybersecurity remains a hot topic for everyone – including nonprofits. One of the many evolving threats to your nonprofit’s data is that an attack might not target your organization directly, but instead may compromise your data indirectly through one of your service providers. This happened recently with the hack of Kaseya, which many IT companies use to provide remote monitoring and troubleshooting for their clients. Because there are so many elements to consider when it comes to cybersecurity, we’ll be featuring additional articles in the coming months on this topic. For now, we’ll start with two important – and easy – steps your nonprofit can take today:
Use a password manager.
The days of a common password for an organization’s shared accounts are over. Staff turnover and the risk of all of your organization’s accounts being compromised if just one is attacked mean long overdue changes to this common practice. Every account needs a unique and secure password, yet there is no way to remember them all. This is where password managers come in. They establish unique, complex passwords for every account and easy ways to automatically, securely, and seamlessly share those passwords across the organization. And the good news is that several top-rated password managers offer nonprofit discounts, such as 1Password and DashLane.
Test and train.
Most cyber breaches don’t happen through expert hackers breaking through a security system. In most cases, they find their way in through getting someone to click on a link that seems legitimate. Everyone thinks they can identify a spoof email, but it’s not as easy as you think. Companies like KnowBe4 offer the ability to set up free security tests for your users and set up an ongoing security awareness program for your organization.
Related Insights and Analysis
Additional Resources
- Cybersecurity for Nonprofits: A Guide (NTEN)
- Think. Connect. Toolkit (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)
- Security Trends and Emerging Threats (TechImpact webinar recording)
- Cybersecurity Offers for Your Nonprofit (TechSoup)