Did you know 88% of data breaches are caused by human error[1]?
This means that majority of cyber security breaches that can occur within organisations are largely preventable with employee education and proper policies and procedures. The impact of these breaches can be significant and long lasting depending on what information and how much of it has been accessed.
As organisations that collect a large amount of data Associations need to be vigilant and pay special attention to building a positive cyber culture that encourages staff to stay safe online and ensure there are strong internal processes in place.
Association Management Systems (AMS’) are an essential tool for Associations and there are ways organisations can better ensure it remains protected and avoid data breaches.
Managing passwords effectively is essential to protecting your security. Weak passwords can allow cybercriminals to easily gain access to your information. Developing a policy for passwords including recommendations on length (encourage passphrases i.e. a sentence over a word), ensure each account has a different password and have them changed regularly. Multi-factor authentication will provide an extra layer of security for your systems.
It is essential that you know who has access to your AMS at all times. If people are no longer employed by your organisation immediately remove their access by cancelling their account/changing the password to the account they used. When providing people access, ensure you check what they can view and restrict their access if needed e.g. allowing Board members to only review reporting functions, restricting who can access or download key data etc..
When sharing documents within your organisation or with third party organisations it’s important to do this safely. You can add password protection to your documents so only those with the password can open it – be sure to text the password to the receiver rather than email it. You can also use a file transfer service to ensure the document can’t be intercepted and opened by another party.
This is particularly important when sending spreadsheets including member data – these emails can be intercepted and the data within the document e.g. email addresses, can be sold.
Checking in with your team to ensure they are updating their computers/systems regularly, updating their passwords and are aware of the latest security policies. Review your cyber policies to ensure they meet the current best practice advice.
There is always new information available on how to protect your employees, your business and your data online. It is important to stay across these updates, stay tuned to updates from your provider and share these with your team to empower them with cybersecurity knowledge.
Protecting your organisation, its systems and information is an ongoing process that requires regular attention from the entire team. Everyone needs to be educated on the best practice tips and be committed to adhering to them.
Membes AMS is constantly being updated to ensure it meets best practice security standards and swiftly actions new developments. More information on what Membes does to secure your data can be found here: membes.com.au/security