Cybersecurity is a vital component of any modern-day operation, whether it be a for-profit business enterprise or not for profit organisations. Without security systems and services in place, you leave yourself open to all manners of cyber threats.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some ways to protect your organisation, including cybersecurity solutions for not for profits and cybersecurity consulting services.
#1 – Identify Risks In Your Processes
Step one in cyber protection is to identify the risks associated with running your not for profit organisation. Nowadays just about every business or organisation relies heavily on IT services and access to a range of online business-critical services. This leaves you open to being vulnerable to cyber attacks, and even small organisations need to identify risks so they can safeguard against cyber threats.
Risk management is one effective way of both identifying risks and working out solutions to deal with those risks before they can present a problem. You could hire a qualified risk manager, or purchase risk management software. Managed IT service providers will be able to advise you on the best ways to identify and manage risks in your non-profit organisation.
#2 – Cyber Awareness Training for Your Staff
Everyone within the organisation needs to be fully aware of how to identify cyber threats. It only takes one staff member being careless or not knowing what to look out for potentially allows your IT system to be breached.
Training in cyber awareness includes risk awareness, risk management, knowing what’s safe to do, and what should be avoided, how to identify threats such as email phishing scams, and more.
If everyone in the organisation is trained, aware and up to speed, your risk of encountering a cyber attack is reduced exponentially.
#3 – Have Up-To-Date Anti-Virus Software
Your IT specialist will be able to advise you on the best anti-virus software to protect your not-for-profit venture. Once installed on your system it’s important to ensure the software is always up-to-date for protection against the latest threats. For this reason, enabling automatic updates for your anti-virus program is highly recommended. New threats emerge all the time, so only a current update patch will protect your system against the newest cyber threats.
It’s also advisable to keep all of the software you use updated with the latest security patches and fixes. This includes your operating system, office programs, and anything else your non-profit organisation uses to operate.
#4 – Use Strong Passwords and Change Passwords Regularly
Strong passwords will include a mix of letters, numbers, characters, and capital letters. Any password that doesn’t include all of these is generally considered weak and far more vulnerable to being hacked.
Change passwords on a regular basis and try not to use the same password to access multiple accounts and platforms. If the same password is used across the board, a hacker needs only to learn one password to access all of your accounts.
Part of the cyber awareness training should include making your staff aware of the importance of strong passwords and changing passwords on a regular basis.
#5 – Protect Against Identity Theft
Identity theft generally occurs when a user is tricked into giving up personal and sensitive information. This could happen through a phishing scam or any other nefarious scheme that promises something in return for this information. Once stolen, the person’s identity may be used to perform various cyber-crimes, or for the criminal’s own economic gain.
#6 – Backup Your Data and Files
The backing up of important data and files should be done on a regular basis. This way, if your organisation does suffer an attack from a cybercriminal and data is lost or stolen, you still have copies that will allow you to recover.
Everyone involved in your non-profit organisation should be in the habit of storing all of their data to locations that are regularly backed up either to on-site backup infrastructure or in the cloud.
#7 – Call Future IT Services for IT Support
For all your IT support Cairns, Townsville, and surrounding areas, Future IT Services is your premier choice. Cybersecurity services are one of our specialties, so you can count on us to ensure your not for profit organisation is safe, secure, and up to speed with the latest software and protection measures in place. Give us a call today to discuss your requirements.