Nonprofits handle a lot of sensitive data, like personal donor info, beneficiary details, and financial records. If an incident disrupts access to this data, it can seriously impact their operations and hinder their ability to deliver vital support.
Unfortunately, no one is immune to the risk of cyber incidents — not government institutions like Cleveland City Hall or even major events like the 2024 Paris Olympics. Cost-conscious nonprofits are also vulnerable.
This is why these organizations must enhance their cybersecurity to ensure operational efficiency. However, many lack the resources to invest in comprehensive IT support to protect their data adequately.
The answer?
Nonprofits can significantly enhance their data security by hiring providers specializing in tailored IT consulting services for their sector. This article will explore how your organization can leverage IT consulting to keep your data safe and your day-to-day work flowing smoothly.
Understanding a non-profit’s data security challenges
Many nonprofits, understandably, prioritize directing their precious financial resources toward program delivery rather than their IT infrastructure and staffing. In fact, one study showed that 56% of non-government organizations haven’t allocated funds for their cybersecurity needs.
Unfortunately, this makes them more vulnerable to weaknesses that hackers can and will exploit. In the busy workday of serving your beneficiaries, who has time to implement strong authentication mechanisms, access controls, and regularly update and patch software and systems?
There are a range of ever-evolving data security threats that can jeopardize a nonprofit’s operations: ransomware attacks that make your data inaccessible until you pay a ransom, data breaches that may result in losing sensitive information or disclosing it to unauthorized people, and social engineering attacks that trick your employees into creating openings into your IT infrastructure for bad actors. Not to mention, hackers are always figuring out new ways to maximize their impact, with experts believing that generative AI will increase the quality and quantity of phishing attempts, for example.
Experiencing any of these security incidents may result in your organization:
- Facing significantly increased expenses for investigating breaches, notifying affected individuals, and providing credit monitoring services.
- Experiencing financial losses due to downtime and disruptions that delay essential projects.
- Eroding donor confidence, which impacts their ability to generate necessary revenue.
How an IT consulting specialist can strengthen your data security
Unprotected IT infrastructure doesn’t have to be inevitable for your nonprofit! Hiring experts for their IT consulting services can be a cost-effective way to help boost your security. When determining criteria for the appropriate IT provider to meet your needs, we recommend including specialists who can carry out these critical tasks for keeping your data safe:
Assessment and planning
If your organization wants a resilient data security posture, you will first need to understand what’s wrong and what you need to address. This will involve:
- A comprehensive evaluation: An IT consultant will start by examining your existing IT infrastructure to identify any vulnerabilities that could create an entry point for cybercriminals. This typically includes looking at everything from your server configurations and data storage setup to your network architecture and access controls. They will also normally evaluate your existing security protocols and solutions.
- Strategic planning: Using the information from their assessment, the IT consultant will create a tailored roadmap for your organization. They will recommend corrective actions to fix any weaknesses in your security posture, alongside long-term security initiatives to future-proof your operations.
Implementing robust security measures
Once the IT consultant has a plan for how to take your security to the level it needs to be, they will follow the most current cybersecurity best practices to get you there. This will usually involve deploying advanced security technologies that work together to strengthen your protection, such as:
- Encryption: Even if a hacker intercepts or compromises your data, encryption ensures that they can’t see or use it, so it remains confidential.
- Continuous monitoring: This proactive approach to threat detection lets you observe your entire infrastructure on an ongoing basis. That way, you can identify any suspicious activities in real time to swiftly mitigate risks before they escalate. Beyond looking at your own internal systems, some providers will also focus on dark web ID tracking to make sure your organization’s data isn’t publicly available online.
- Vulnerability scanning: Similarly, this involves continuously and systematically examining your organization’s IT environment, but in this case, to identify any undetected flaws in your infrastructure that you need to address.
- Proactive protection: Your service provider will also focus on other vital solutions to keep you protected, such as deploying secure password management and email protection tools, to ensure that the assets you need for carrying out your daily operations remain accessible.
Cybersecurity training
Your nonprofit’s organizational resilience won’t just depend on the tools and technologies you deploy in the workplace. Your people will also play a huge role in keeping your data and your infrastructure safe: the World Economic Forum estimated that 95% of cybersecurity incidents happen because of human error.
That’s why it will be crucial to train them on how to adopt cybersecurity best practices and how to identify potential threats. If they know how to recognize a phishing attempt, create a strong password, and safely handle your digital resources, your employees will be able to significantly reduce your nonprofit’s risk. If your organization does experience a cybersecurity incident, your team will know how to respond effectively and be well-prepared to minimize any downtime.
Your IT consultant can help conduct and oversee this process. They can do baseline testing to assess your employee’s current security skills and knowledge, train them, and then test them again to see their progress. This may involve running simulated phishing tests or other types of exercises like security awareness quizzes and interactive training modules.
Improve your cybersecurity posture with Bulletproof IT
When your nonprofit lacks robust data security, you face the constant threat of a cyberattack destabilizing your productivity, operations, and ability to make a meaningful impact on your community.
To ensure your employees can access essential resources when needed, your organization should develop a resilient IT infrastructure capable of weathering evolving digital threats.
When you partner with Bulletproof IT for our IT consulting services, we will advise you on how to optimize your technological environment to enable better efficiency and security. You can also leverage our comprehensive cybersecurity services to address your risk proactively.
Contact Bulletproof IT today to schedule a consultation and strengthen your nonprofit’s data security strategy.