Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the alert published by the Charity Commission on 17 April Coronavirus (COVID-19): increased risk of fraud and cybercrime against charities, what discussions they have had with charities to improve the security of their IT infrastructure.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) continues to work closely alongside the Charity Commission, and sector representative bodies in supporting the charity sector to enhance their cyber resilience. During this period of increased online reliance and activity, the NCSC has produced sector neutral guidance for organisations on remote working, and has briefed the Charities Against Fraud Group, hosted by the Charity Commission, on the current threat landscape and support available.

The Charity Commission updated its alert in May to include advice from the NCSC on how to report suspicious emails and how to use video conferencing safely, as well as a recorded webinar with The Fraud Advisory Panel and sector partners, including the City of London Police, to help charities spot Covid-19 related fraud. The Charity Commission has supported the Digital Code for Charities Steering Group which has developed a COVID-19 digital checklist for charity trustees and leaders to help them make the right decisions about digital during the crisis, which has been published online: https://charitydigitalcode.org/covid19/trustees-checklist-covid19/.

In conjunction with Small Charities week (15-19th June) NCSC will be hosting a series of cyber security workshops to help charities understand what steps they can take to protect their IT infrastructure.