How Nonprofits Can Stay Safe While Running Online Campaigns

Non-profits have a duty to offer the best to their donors and clients. But this duty doesn’t just include the front end, but the back end, as well. An online ad campaign can leave you and your team open to threats, including data breaches, cyberattacks, malware, phishing, and more.

To maintain the trust of your customers, clients, and donors, non-profit organizations will need to put some protection in place. Even small things like multi-factor authentication can greatly help improve your nonprofit’s ability to keep important donor and company information safe. 

In this article, we’ll look at some simple ways to stay protected while running online campaigns.

5 Ways to Keep Your Non-Profit Data Safe at All Times

When your non-profit starts implementing an online campaign, don’t forget to do what you can to keep your data secure. Here are 5 ways to run a safe marketing campaign right now. 

1. Secure All Communication Channels

Your non-profit likely communicates via email, text message, or video conferencing software. While these programs offer great convenience, they leave you open to breaches.

Before looking at options, we should understand what makes communication secure:

• Encryption: Makes data unreadable in transit.
• Authentication: Prevents unauthorized access.
• Integrity: Ensures messages aren’t changed during transit.
• Non-Repudiation: Offers proof of delivery. 

No matter how you communicate with your team, the first step is ensuring encryption. For example, most free email services don’t encrypt your data, but ProtonMail does. An IRC (Internet Relay Channel), like Signal or Slack, can create encrypted chat rooms.

However, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) like CyberGhost offer some of the best communication protection around because it encrypts online traffic and hides your IP address. And if you’re new to this tech, CyberGhost offers a VPN free trial and a money-back guarantee.

2. Train Your Team on Cybersecurity

According to a 2024 Verizon Business study, 68% of breaches involve human error. These breaches often occur when the victim falls for a social engineering or phishing attack.

This statistic shows the importance of employee security awareness training. Nonprofits can start training their staff by implementing real-world simulations, e-learning modules, and peer learning programs. Cybersecurity training should also be a part of your onboarding process.

Doing regular security audits and drills can also keep information fresh for employees. Be sure to develop a training program that covers the basics (not clicking suspicious links and using strong passwords). Creating a supportive learning environment is another great idea. To support these efforts and strengthen your overall response strategy, you can also implement an employee notification system to ensure urgent cybersecurity alerts reach staff instantly, helping them respond quickly and minimize risk.

3. Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Non-profits are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks because they often don’t have the staff available to keep them protected. Fortunately, MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) can help.

Unfortunately, NTEN found that 56% of non-profits don’t use MFA when logging into their accounts. However, you can improve your security tenfold simply by using a strong password and adding an extra question or pin number. But, since 50% of IT users reuse passwords across workplace accounts, MFA will be there to circumvent this human error. 

If a password is hacked, a warning can be sent to you or the donor quickly about this unauthorized access without the breach occurring if an MFA is in place. MFA is also valuable for remote employees who may use an unsecured router, either at home or at a coffee shop. 

4. Monitor Social Media Accounts

Social media gives non-profits a cheap and effective way to get their message across. But, social media is often the target of cyberattacks. If your social media is compromised, the hacker could use your page to post malicious content or steal sensitive data.

To keep your social media safe, be sure to:

• Review who has access to your accounts regularly 
• Remove permissions that are no longer needed
• Enable alerts for attempted logins in unknown locations
• Use strong passwords and MFA
• Don’t post any information a hacker could use to guess a password

Nonprofits who purchase ads directly on social media apps should make sure their credit card information is protected. Check your statements regularly for unauthorized purchases. 

5. Backup Data and Update Software

Backup all data in multiple places and use more than one medium. For example, you should use cloud storage and an external hard drive. This will ensure you don’t lose all access.

Both file backups (only backing up files, folders, and Facebook chats) and system backups (saving the entire operating system) are essential. Some malicious attacks can brick your whole operating system, and the system backup is great to have in this circumstance.

Updating your software to the latest versions is important for removing backdoors and other vulnerabilities. This will decrease the chance of you getting a virus, such as a trojan or malware. Always enable automatic updates or update notifications to keep your software current. 

Don’t Let Your Non-Profit Data be Stolen by Hackers

Running an online campaign doesn’t have to be dangerous. If you put the right protections in place, your non-profit won’t have to worry about hackers hurting you, your clients, or your business. With these great initiatives in place, you can focus on creating positive change.

We recommend that you start implementing these strategies today. The faster you improve the security of your campaigns, the better! Don’t let unnecessary risks hold you back!