Security and privacy for charities.

Charities hold genuinely sensitive data — beneficiary information, donation records, financial details, and in many cases health or social care data about vulnerable individuals. They are also perceived by attackers as soft targets: under-resourced, with limited IT support, and often running legacy systems.

Phishing accounts for 86% of incidents reported by charities, and business email compromise is a growing threat. Many charities have also suffered through their supply chains — where a compromised supplier or cloud platform has led to data exposure.

The regulatory picture is the same as for any organisation. UK GDPR applies regardless of charitable status, and the ICO has issued reprimands and fines to charities that failed to meet basic data protection standards. The Charity Commission expects trustees to take data security seriously as part of their governance responsibilities.

For charities seeking central government contracts, the bar is rising further. Cyber Essentials certification is a standard requirement in government procurement, and demonstrating GDPR compliance and supply chain security is increasingly expected as a condition of funding.

Principle Defence understands the constraints charities operate under. Our approach is to deliver the security and compliance support you genuinely need — proportionate to your size, your data, and your budget — without overstating the requirement or recommending solutions you cannot sustain.