Welcome to the Smartdesc April newsletter. This month, we are thrilled to present our 2024 Charity Technology Leaders Report, providing valuable IT insights in the nonprofit sector. Additionally, don’t miss out on the exciting events we have lined up with Microsoft and ServiceNow. Free charity IT resources Our 2024 Charity Technology Leaders Report is live!…
We are excited to publish our Charity Technology Leaders Report 2024. From January to March 2024, we conducted our second annual survey of charity technology leaders to understand the sector’s priorities, risks, challenges and opportunities around IT. The report summarises the key findings for charity IT leaders, draws out the main themes and trends, and…
As of February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require bulk senders (e.g. marketing mass emails using tools like Mailchimp) to have a DMARC policy in their website domain. Emails must pass DMARC alignment and meet various standards. This change is aimed at improving email security and reducing spam, as per this guide. For charities, this means…
Welcome to the Smartdesc March newsletter. This month, we provide guidance around how charities can prepare for AI, and for the PTSN switch off in 2025. We also share upcoming events in London with ServiceNow and Microsoft. Free charity IT resources In this video with our friends at CFG, our CEO Adam Monks discusses the…
In 2023, the UK government published two reports that were important for the nonprofit sector – the NCSC’s Cyber Threat Report: UK Charity Sector, and the Cyber Security Breaches Survey. These reports share common themes around the importance of authentication, security updates, updating firewalls, and crucially, Cyber Essentials as a useful framework to help protect your…
Join us on Thursday 11 July 2024 in London for our next quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, alongside Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. Our roundtables provide a relaxed, safe space to meet your peers working at other large charities, share best practice and learn from other organisations. The topic of this roundtable will be cyber security.…
Data breaches are a serious threat in today’s digital age, especially for nonprofit organisations. While much attention is given to high-profile cyber attacks, internal staff members sometimes mishandle personal data in their care, creating a digital nightmare. One of the more common data breaches involves unauthorised access to databases containing sensitive service user information. These…
Welcome to the Smartdesc November newsletter. This month we share how charities can be more digitally mature and offer the following resources: A blog on the five key stages of digital maturity for charities with illustrations Free Microsoft Cloud Security, Cyber Security and Data Protection assessments Free instructor-led MS365 training sessions Our next Quarterly Charity…
ACEVO is the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. Together with their network, they inspire and support civil society leaders by providing connections, advocacy and skills. ACEVO approached Smartdesc as they wanted to achieve the Cyber Essentials certification, to prove their commitment to best practice with cyber security. Challenge Cyber Essentials is a government-backed,…
Welcome to the Smartdesc October newsletter. This month we discuss how you can can strengthen your charity’s cyber security posture and offer the following resources: A blog on cyber security takeaways from our recent roundtable, and another on vulnerabilities you should be aware of Free Microsoft Cloud Security, Information Governance, and Cyber Security assessments The…
