You better watch out: How charities and donors can be more cyber-secure this holiday season
Almost half a million Canadian payment cards have been stolen in the last year, according to a study by cybersecurity company Gemini Advisory. With the holiday season coming up, many Canadians will be looking to give back to their communities with online donations. But how can they feel safe donating online when news of a data breach seems to make headlines every day?
According to the 2018 Global Trends in Giving Report, 62 per cent of donors in Canada prefer to donate online with their debit or credit card. The ease of donating online makes it a great way to give back but also puts charities and, by extension their donors, at risk. Data breaches are often associated with large businesses, but charities are also susceptible to being targets.
In 2015, Utah Food Bank’s donation web page faced a data breach that exposed the personal and credit card information of 10,000 donors. As a result, the food bank offered the affected donors free identity protection and credit monitoring for a full year.
According to the 30 years of Giving in Canada report, 12 per cent of Canadians reported making at least one donation online in 2013, collectively contributing at least $860 million and approximately seven per cent of total reported donations. Donors looking to protect themselves can take matters into their own hands by finding other ways to support their favourite charities.
If people prefer to donate online, they can opt to use a prepaid card instead of entering their own credit card details. This is a great way to stay secure while using a familiar method of payment. Another option is to pay with cash or cheque instead. Most charitable organizations accept donations by mail.
Not all donations have to be monetary. People can donate their time or needed supplies instead. Volunteering is a good way to get out and see the firsthand impact of a charity’s work. Participating in initiatives like clothing or food drives is another way to give back. These are all valuable opportunities for people to get more involved with their community and have fun.
While it’s important for people to donate safely, charities also have to put in the effort to protect their donors. It can be a challenge for charities to allocate the funds needed for security, but it’s a worthwhile investment. In the 2018 Global Trends in Giving Report, 92 per cent of donors said it was important for charities to protect their financial and contact information from data breaches.
Charities need to recognize the threat cyber attacks pose and take measures to prevent them from happening. To help protect their organizations and donors, charities need to equip cyber-aware staff with next generation technologies like firewalls and security information event management (SIEM) systems.
Next-generation firewalls are important because they act as a filter to keep bad actors out. Firewalls help block unauthorized access into computers, preventing sensitive data like donor information from falling into the wrong hands.
For further protection, advanced technology like an SIEM system uses machine learning to determine if threats are taking place. It can analyze data and detect suspicious behaviour, like multiple logins or traffic from bad IP addresses.
Encryption services for donation forms are important, because they help people feel safe entering their credit card information online. As well, charities should partner with hosting providers that are payment card industry data security standard (PCI DSS) compliant. PCI DSS provides the global security standards for processing, storing and transmitting cardholder data.
Jolera can help. As an aggregate IT services provider based in Toronto, the firm works with organizations of all sizes — including not-forprofits — to develop technology solutions catered to their specific needs.
“As a non-profit, we have a commitment to our donors, our staff and the children we serve to ensure that the generous donations we receive help the world’s most vulnerable,” says Teina Petropoulos, director of customer relationship management and innovation for World Vision Canada.
“Finding the right partnership is essential, and partners like Jolera provide key skills and experience that fill the needs of our organization while allowing our team to focus on their core mandates.”
Giving back to the community is important to many Canadians, and it’s a wonderful thing to do. Both donors and charities, however, need to ensure that they are taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves this holiday season.