Digital Resilience for Councils and Charities
Why Digital Resilience Matters for Public and Nonprofit Organisations
Charities and non-profit organisations are increasingly moving towards digital systems for several practical and operational reasons – improving the services that are offered, operational efficiency, and sustainability. Digital tools help streamline daily operations, especially for organisations with small teams. They can make fundraising more effective and help organisations stay relevant and accessible to their staff and service users. However, with this shift towards automated and online systems, the need for digital resilience becomes even greater.
Digital resilience is an organisation’s ability to prepare for, withstand, respond to, and recover from digital disruptions. These disruptions could be caused by cyberattacks, system failures, unexpected technical issues, and even human error. It ensures that your organisation can keep operating when something goes wrong, protecting personal information and the services you deliver, as well as the people who rely on them.
There has been a rising number of targeted attacks on small organisations including charities, local councils, community groups, and nonprofits because they often have weaker defences and hold valuable data. Charities cannot justify high-cost cybersecurity tools or full-time specialists, creating gaps in protection that attackers know how to exploit. Criminals will take advantage of limited budgets and outdated systems in order to steal, sell, or use information such as payment information, service-user records, and internal documents.
When a charity, council, or similar organisation is attacked, the consequences extend far beyond technical disruption; a cyber incident can result in damage to reputation. Supporters may question the charity’s ability to safeguard donations, personal data, or sensitive information and withdraw their support, or cancel regular donations. If a charity provides frontline services, any interruption to their daily operations will directly affect the individuals who rely on their services, therefore making it impossible for the charity to deliver its mission.
This is why cybersecurity for charities must be treated as a core operational priority. It is not an optional extra.
Common Cyber Risks Facing Councils and Charities
Cyber threats for councils and charities can include changes to the organisation’s website itself.
Website manipulation
Website manipulation is when attackers gain access to an organisation’s website and make changes on its pages for malicious purposes. This is a particularly serious risk for councils and charities because websites are often the first place that the general public learn about them, their services, and are directed to donation platforms. Manipulated websites undermine trust and may make users question the authenticity and legitimacy of the organisation.
Attackers often create unauthorised pages and use them to host phishing forms that collect sensitive information, or a fake donation page that steals card information. They may also alter a website’s metadata which includes page titles, descriptions or keywords. This information helps search engines, browsers, and social platforms understand and display web content. Manipulated data on a website’s main pages, or metadata will affect its search engine ranking. It can also be used to include hidden links to spam or phishing sites, and redirect data analytics.
A malicious redirect sends website visitors to scam websites or inappropriate content, which can have legal and reputational consequences. Attackers will use the redirect to steal personal data, passwords, or payment information. Even install malware on visitors’ devices.
For councils and charities, these changes may go unnoticed for months but can seriously affect visitor trust and overall reputation.
Data vulnerabilities
UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act of 2018 states that organisations have 72 hours to report breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if there is suspected harm to individuals through the breach. Charities and councils collect and store sensitive information about the people they serve and the people who support them financially. Harm to individuals in these cases includes donor and beneficiary data, staff and volunteer information, and information on service users including health records, family circumstance or case notes.
Risks of breach of data can be caused by unauthorised access to information through weak passwords, shared logins, or outdated systems, which allow attackers to steal or alter data. Phishing attacks such as fake emails, or text messages that trick staff into revealing sensitive information, and data leaks.
Nonprofit cyber security can reduce risk of harm if personal or medical information is exposed.
Operational disruption
Data breaches disrupt the very systems that allow organisations to serve their communities. Many charities and councils rely on online forms and event pages to manage their services and community engagement. When a data breach occurs online booking forms may become compromised, as hackers may alter forms to steal personal data. Participants may be unable to sign up for events; data that has already been collected may be lost or manipulated.
If email systems are compromised, staff may be unable to send or receive messages, affecting operations and limiting access to shared documents. Regular updates to donors, volunteers, or service users may fail, reducing engagement. Attackers could use official accounts to send phishing emails.
It takes time to recover after a breach and operations will suffer if a website has to be taken offline, or systems have to be disabled. For charities serving vulnerable populations or councils providing public services, even short downtime can have serious consequences.
Strengthening Website and System Security
Access control and password policies
Website security for charities doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple steps to protecting charity data can make a big difference. Access control and strong password policies are critical in reducing the risk of cyberattacks.
Every user account with administrative privileges is a potential entry point for attackers, but particularly old or unused accounts, because they are not monitored. Deactivate outdated or unused accounts as soon as they are no longer needed. Conduct regular audits of all administrative accounts and keep a record of who has access and why, to maintain accountability.
Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by using an SMS code, an authentication app, or a physical security key as well as a password. This means that even if a password is stolen, attackers cannot log in without the second factor. It reduces the risk of accounts being compromised if a password is stolen. It is particularly important for administrative accounts, financial systems and email platforms which might allow hackers access to wider systems and information.
Shared logins make it hard to track who accessed a system, and when. Assigning individual accounts to every user is a simple way to reduce risk, and discover a breach if it happens. Remove shared admin or staff accounts and use password managers to securely store information.
Software and plugin maintenance
Council and charity websites often use content management systems (CMS). These systems rely on plugins to provide functionality such as sign up systems, contact forms, accessibility tools and donation forms. Regularly updating plugins and software will fix known vulnerabilities that hackers are on the look out for. Updates not only secure systems but also ensure that features work smoothly and remain compatible for different devices.
Regulators and funders increasingly expect digital systems to be maintained responsibly. Enabling automatic updates will keep your system up to date. Be sure to schedule regular maintenance to manually update plugins, and delete any unused scripts and themes. Old themes and plugins can contain vulnerable code and can become a security risk, which attackers exploit to gain access.
Backup and recovery readiness
Backup and recovery readiness is one of the most often overlooked elements of digital safety for charities. Having proper backups of your data, stored securely away from your main systems, and tested regularly, is key to how charities can reduce cyber risks, as well as safety from physical damage, and recovery from human error. All while maintaining compliance. Automate backups to run daily and encrypt everything to protect personal and beneficiary information.
Backups are only valuable if they work. A restoration test checks whether you can successfully restore data from your backups. Schedule restoration tests at least twice a year, testing different types of data to check they are all coverable. Document every step of the recovery process and train staff to follow it. After each test, fix gaps or delays and improve the procedure.
Improving Day To Day Digital Awareness
Staff and volunteer training
Digital safety for charities begins with improving day-to-day digital awareness for all staff and volunteers. As charities often rely on volunteers and part-time staff, human error becomes one of the biggest vulnerabilities. Building digital awareness helps reduce risks, protects charity data, and strengthens overall organisational digital resilience.
Phishing attempts are the most common method of accessing organisational data. Attackers will usually target individuals within a charity. Their methods usually involve social engineering – impersonating another organisation and creating a sense of urgency, whether it is by email, phone or text message. For example, a bank calling about a fraudulent transaction, asking you to move money, or share log in details. Training should cover how to recognise suspicious emails, verify requests for sensitive information and encourage everyone to properly assess every link they click on to check whether it is legitimate.
Charities often collect and store sensitive information. Mishandling this data can cause harm, damage trust, and lead to GDPR penalties. Only collect the data that is absolutely necessary and only keep it for as long as you need it. Use secure practices when storing and sharing all data. Never share information through personal email accounts, on messaging apps, or without password protection.
Routine digital hygiene
Cyber security for charities requires devices to be updated to ensure that all security features are working effectively. Changing passwords regularly minimises risks of being hacked. Ensure they are a maximum of 12 characters with a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Keep passwords for personal and organisational purposes separate.
Remote work introduces extra risks because people may be using public Wi-Fi, or shared networks. Remote access should only be allowed from organisation-managed laptops where possible, or on personal devices that meet minimum security requirements. Using secure cloud systems with strong passwords will help secure access when working remotely.
Building an Organisational Digital Resilience Plan
Map critical digital assets
A digital resilience plan helps your organisation understand what systems matter most and what would happen if they were disrupted. To do this, you must identify all the essential digital tools your organisation relies on.
For your website make note of who hosts the website, where the domain is registered, who has administrative access, which CMS is used and any key integrations.
For mailing systems you need to know which email provider you use, where mailing lists are stored, how newsletters are sent and any backup or archive procedures.
For shared drives take note of how they’re structured, and who has access to which folders. Paying particular attention to where sensitive files are stored, how the drive is backed up and whether old staff accounts are removed.
CRMs contain some of the most sensitive data charities hold. Mapping includes knowing which system you use, what data it holds, and who has admin privileges, any integrations and your backup and export procedures.
Identify roles and responsibilities
Digital safety strategies for charities don’t have to be overwhelming if all staff, volunteers and board members pitch in. When no one is clearly responsible for a system, updates are missed, backups go unmonitored, and vulnerabilities go unnoticed. Establishing key roles and responsibilities to ensure that systems are maintained consistently, issues are spotted early, the right people act quickly during an incident and the organisation meets GDPR obligation.
At a minimum every charity should define one named person or team, with documented access to manage the website, handle data and respond if something goes wrong.
For the website, the key responsibilities are to keep content current and accurate, and monitor for any cyber attacks.
Data handling is often overseen by an operations manager, data protection lead, or an appointed Data Protection Officer. They will ensure data is stored securely and accessed appropriately.
Many charities create a small incident-response group that can act quickly even outside normal working hours for when something goes wrong.
Regular monitoring and simple reporting
Even with strong security systems, charities remain at risk of cyber attack if no one is checking what is going on. Regular monitoring ensures you catch problems early. Simple reporting processes keep everyone in the organisation informed.
Charities don’t need advanced IT knowledge, they just need to be aware of any changes that might turn out to be malicious in nature. They can do this by using simple change detection tools that notify you if that notify you if pages are added or removed, plugins are updated unexpectedly, metadata is altered and redirects are created.
Many of the systems charities rely on include built-in dashboards to monitor the health of the system. A monthly or fortnightly dashboard check can reveal issues before they escalate.
Internal reviews are not meant to be technical audits, but routine check-ins that ensure systems are maintained and responsibilities are being met, building a culture where digital safety is normal, not reactive.
Supporting Community Trust Through Strong Digital Practices
Charities and public organisations run on trust. People donate, volunteer, and use services because they believe the organisation is safe, responsible, and credible. Strong digital practices protect that trust by proving that the organisation takes security, privacy, and reliability seriously.
Reliable digital systems build confidence. When everything from your website to donation pages, or online services work smoothly, the community you serve feels confident engaging with your organisation.
A safe website protects the general public and any service users from harm, giving them confidence to engage with your organisation. Visitors are less likely to fall victim to scams, sensitive information stays protected, people trust the information you provide, and vulnerable users feel secure when engaging with your services.
Good digital governance reinforces transparency and professionalism by having clear policies, roles and responsibilities. Professional digital practices reinforce credibility and reduce the chance of reputational damage from security incidents. Digital resilience is key to building public confidence in your organisation.
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