Cyber Security Challenges Facing Charities
Charities and non-profit organisations hold sensitive donor, employee, volunteer and beneficiary information while depending on digital platforms to raise funds and deliver services.
A compromised account, a vulnerable donation platform, or an insecure cloud service could expose personal data, enable fraud, or prevent the organisation from carrying out essential work.
Effective cyber security for charities therefore requires more than policies and automated scanning. Independent penetration testing helps identify which weaknesses are genuinely exploitable and where limited time and budget should be focused first.
Sensitive Donor and Beneficiary Data
Charities may process donor details, payment information, safeguarding records, health information and data relating to vulnerable people. A security weakness could expose this information to unauthorised users or attackers. Our testing assesses whether applications, permissions and infrastructure provide effective protection.
Reliance on Cloud and Third-Party Services
Many charities depend on external platforms for fundraising, customer relationship management, email, file storage and service delivery. These systems simplify operations but can create a fragmented security perimeter. Weak integrations, excessive permissions or insecure configurations may expose information across several connected services.
Fraud and Social Engineering
Attackers may impersonate trustees, suppliers, donors or senior employees to request payments, change bank details or obtain credentials. Open and collaborative working practices can make staff and volunteers more exposed to phishing and other forms of social engineering. Controlled testing can identify where processes and awareness need strengthening.
Benefits of Penetration Testing for Charities and Non-Profits
Penetration testing gives charities evidence of how their systems respond to realistic attack techniques.
Rather than relying solely on automated findings, our consultants investigate whether vulnerabilities can be exploited, what impact they could have and which issues should be addressed first.
Protect Donor and Beneficiary Data
Assess whether sensitive personal, financial or service-user information could be accessed, altered or extracted without authorisation.
Reduce the Risk of Fraud and Disruption
Identify weaknesses that could contribute to payment fraud, ransomware, account compromise or loss of access to essential services.
Prioritise Limited Resources
Understand which vulnerabilities present a genuine risk instead of treating every automated alert equally.
Support Trustees and Governance
Provide independent evidence that relevant systems have been professionally tested. The resulting report can help trustees and senior leaders understand material risks, monitor remediation and demonstrate that cyber security is being managed responsibly.
Cyber Security and Penetration Testing Services for Charities
Web Application Penetration Testing
Assess donation portals, membership platforms, beneficiary services and other public or authenticated web applications.
Network Penetration Testing
Assess internal and external networks for vulnerabilities that could enable unauthorised access, privilege escalation or movement between systems.
API Penetration Testing
Assess APIs connecting fundraising platforms, mobile applications, CRM systems and third-party services.
Mobile Application Penetration Testing
Assess iOS and Android applications used by donors, volunteers, employees or beneficiaries.
Cloud Penetration Testing
Assess AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud environments used to store information or deliver charitable services.
Phishing and Social Engineering Testing
Assess how staff and volunteers respond to controlled phishing and other authorised social-engineering scenarios.
Supporting Charity Security and Assurance
Schools, colleges and universities may need to demonstrate that appropriate technical controls are in place for governors, trustees, auditors, insurers and funding bodies.
Sencode provides independent testing and reporting that can support these assurance activities and help institutions demonstrate that relevant systems have been assessed.
Charity Commission Guidance
The Charity Commission advises trustees to manage charity resources responsibly, identify fraud and cyber risks, take proportionate protective action and check whether those measures are working.
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials is the minimum cyber security standard recommended by the UK Government for organisations of all sizes.
GDPR and Data Protection
Charities processing personal data must implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures.
PCI DSS
Charities accepting card payments may have obligations under PCI DSS depending on how payment information is handled and which systems are in scope.
Our Charity Penetration Testing Process
Contact a consulting team member by phone, email, or post. We will then discuss whether we can help you and arrange a scoping meeting to discuss your requirements.
In the scoping meeting, our team will discuss your requirements in further detail. Our team will ask questions regarding the following:
- Assets
- Asset Locations
- Test Perspective
- Objectives
- Scoping
- Date & Time
- Technologies
- Frameworks
Our expert consultants will discuss and finalise which digital assets you need testing in the scoping meeting. Based on the requirements, we will then assemble a project proposal and quote and agree on a schedule for conducting the security assessment.
Our proposal document will include the following information:
- Client Information
- Test Perspective
- Test Constraints
- Test Framework
- Scope Information
- Determined Scope
- Deliverables
- Quote & Authorisation (Signature)
The Penetration Testing starts. A member of our Penetration Testing team will liaise with a member of your company throughout the entire testing process. You will be the first to know if we have any questions or concerns. Our testing team will be on hand throughout the penetration test lifecycle to answer any questions or concerns.
Our tester will:
- Keep you updated
- Provide end of day summaries
- Liaise with the point of contact
- Test using a strict methodology
- Document evidence
- Maintain confidentiality
- Provide real-time alerts
- Deliver detailed reports
A Penetration Test is useless without a well-written report. Our reports are written in plain English, concise, and thoroughly documented. The Penetration Test Report is typically furnished within 5 days after the testing phase is complete. If you are interested in seeing an example report, please contact our team.
Each report details the following:
- Context & Objectives
- Mailing List
- Period and Confidentiality
- Perimeter & Scope
- Environment Overview
- Executive Summary
- Findings Summary & Table
- Technical Details
At Sencode, we offer free retesting for every Penetration Test we conduct. You fix the issues; then we will verify they can no longer be exploited by an attacker. Our team will arrange a mutually suitable time to conduct the retest, after the remediation efforts have taken place.
Our tester will follow these steps:
- Arrange Access
- Ask what issues have been resolved
- Retest the issues in the report
- Provide end of day summaries
- Update the document
- Deliver the document
- Offer a retest debriefing
- Debrief with your team
Deliver a Security Testing Certificate
Our clients receive a testing certificate that can be shared with partners and customers, showing that their company takes security seriously. The certificate and document are designed to be easily digested by third-party suppliers; the document removes the technical details and can be safely distributed.
The Security Testing Certificate is available on request after the retest has been completed. The security certificate shows:
- Date of the assessment
- Company name
- Client name
- Outstanding issues
- Resolved Issues
- Updated risk profile
- Environment Overview
- Executive Summary
What does choosing a CREST provider mean?
CREST accreditation is an independent, rigorous assessment of technical competence, process and data security. Choosing a CREST-accredited provider means your testing is delivered to a standard you can trust – and evidence you can stand behind.
Certified Penetration Testing Consultants
Our consultants are highly trained and individually certified.
Proven Pen Test Methodologies
Our pen testing follows recognised best practices: PTES, OWASP, and NIST.
Compliant reporting
Our reports provide executive context, technical evidence, risk-rated findings and practical remediation guidance.
ISO aligned
Our information security and quality policies align with ISO 27001 and ISO 9001.
Grey, Black and White Box Penetration Testing
At Sencode, we test from every perspective. Not sure which fits your needs? Speak to a member of our team; our experts are on hand to advise.
Client Testimonials
Don’t just trust our word for it; hear what our clients have to say about working with our team.
“The team at Sencode are flexible and easy to work with while also being extremely diligent and professional in what they do. As a result, we regard Sencode as a critical partner in ensuring our software is properly tested.”
Chief Technical Officer
Huler
“We held a briefing meeting with Callum to demo the system, answer relevant questions, and provide access for testing. Once the testing was completed, the report was efficient and comprehensive.”
Project Manager
Trinity College Dublin
“The team was super friendly, knowledgeable, and happy to chat with us. They did really great work, and I’m very happy that we got to work with them.”
IT Director
Diversity and Ability
“All conversations with Sencode have been very easy, and it’s clear that the team know their stuff. From the initial chat to the retesting process, we’ve been kept informed and supported throughout.”
Digital Lead
Verve Group
“Sencode have conducted our penetration testing for the last two years. Each time, they were professional, polite and kept us informed throughout the process. The reports were received in a timely manner and were concisely written. All this and at a competitive rate.”
Technical Engineer
Pip Studios
“Working with Sencode has been brilliant. You can tell they genuinely love what they do – it shows in how thoroughly they test everything and dig into the details. Even a non-tech person could understand what they found and what needed fixing.”
Cyber Security Specialist
Home Group
Frequently Asked Questions: Charity Cyber Security
We begin by understanding the systems, information and services most important to your organisation. The assessment can then focus on the assets posing the greatest risk rather than applying an unnecessarily broad scope. You receive prioritised findings so remediation spending can be directed towards the issues that matter most.
Penetration testing can support trustees in identifying and managing technical cyber risks, but it does not by itself satisfy every Charity Commission governance responsibility. Our reports provide independent evidence of the systems tested, the vulnerabilities identified, and the actions recommended. This can help trustees demonstrate that proportionate steps are being taken to protect the charity’s resources and information.
Phishing simulations are planned as controlled security assessments rather than disciplinary exercises. We agree on the target groups, scenarios, timing, success measures and escalation procedures before testing. The results can help identify weaknesses in awareness, reporting and verification processes.
Contact us
Get a free, no obligation quote from one of our expert staff.