The MidJersey Chamber of Commerce Features a Guest Blog By Mercadien’s Sherise Ritter, about nonprofit assessment of cyber security risks and preparedness.

Technological security is the first hot topic in our new series, introduced last issue, on the major trends affecting the nonprofit sector. Not only is the topic increasingly important to nearly everyone today, but it is also undergoing a directional shift due to the prevalence and ingenuity of cyber-hackings. The true statistics about these hackings are more alarming than may be realized from the handful of high-profile corporate incidents recently in the news.  The risks associated solely with IT security apply to and reverberate throughout an entire organization’s systems and operations.

Many nonprofits, already challenged by regulatory and funding pressures, lack the economic or human resources to efficiently and economically address issues related to information technology and telecommunications. Of course, these are the very systems on which they must rely (to greater degree every day) to enhance services, automate processes and report program achievements. These issues become even more burdensome if disruption, degradation or unauthorized alteration of information or systems are adversely affected by malicious acts, which are increasing significantly.

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