Cyber Risk Hits Home: How Charities Can Defend Against Breaches

If you're part of a charity team, whether a founder, trustee, or operations lead, you already know how tight budgets and time are. But here’s a wake-up call: 30 percent of UK charities experienced a cyber breach or attack in the past year. While that’s down slightly from last year, the consequences can still be real and painful, service interruptions, costs, and loss of donor trust.

The good news? Many of the most effective steps cost little but go a long way. Let’s walk through them.

Why This Matters to Your Charity

Phishing Remains the Top Threat

A staggering 86 percent of charities that reported a breach said phishing was the root cause. These aren’t one-offs, many charities were targeted weekly or monthly .

Disruption Is Increasing

Breaches aren’t just theoretical. 5 percent of charities lost access to third-party services, up from just 1 percent last year, slowing everything from programmes to communications.

Costs Add Up Fast

The average cost of the most disruptive breach for charities can be £8,690. That is a hefty hit for missions built on tight margins.

Cyber Hygiene Gaps Remain

Only around 35 percent of charities have multi-factor authentication in place. Few provide staff training, just 21 percent of all charities, and only 47 percent of high-income ones. Cybersecurity is a high priority for leaders, but board-level expertise and action are lagging behind.

Practical Steps Your Charity Can Take, Now

Here’s your lean and effective checklist to strengthen your cyber posture:

1. Train Regularly on Phishing

Host bite-sized training sessions or simulations, even just quarterly. Make them about spotting real-looking scams and AI impersonation tricks. Turn spam into a learning opportunity.

2. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Add MFA to all shared accounts, email, donor systems, file storage, even if nobody else notices. It’s one of the simplest ways to stop credential misuse.

3. Keep Software Patched and Use Antivirus

Ensure your core systems, browsers, and antivirus tools are up to date. This closes easy attack vectors, donor data and beneficiary info deserve protection.

4. Back Up Critical Data, And Test It

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of important data, two in different places, and one off-site or in the cloud. Test restore at least once a year, so you know it works when you need it.

5. Create a Simple Incident Response Plan

You don’t need a detailed manual. Just write down: who to call, what to say, how to contain an issue, and how to inform stakeholders, or get outside help when needed.

6. Clean Up Access Rights

Limit who can access what. Only give admin access to those who truly need it, and review these permissions regularly.

7. Check Your Suppliers’ Security

Ask your service providers (web hosts, CRM tools, accounting platforms): do you have basic protection like MFA and regular patching? Bring them into your readiness plan.

8. Appoint a Cyber “Champion” or Trustee

Even if they’re not a tech expert, having one person on the board or staff accountable for cyber risk makes all the difference in keeping it visible.

Why This Pays Off, Putting Perspective on the Numbers

In our experience, charities are often hit not because they collect sensitive data, but because they’re trusted and lean. Phishing thrives where staff haven’t had practice spotting tricks, and costs spiral when backups fail or permissions are too loose.

Making these changes doesn’t lock down your work, it protects your mission. Imagine restoring access in minutes instead of days or having confidence after a suspicious email instead of uncertainty.

Conclusion

Charities face real cyber risk, and too often pay a high price. But you don’t need a security team: you need smart habits. Training, MFA, patching, backups, response plans, they’re low-cost, high-value. Make cyber resilience part of your culture, not an afterthought.