December 14, 2016
Churches—and other ministries, as well—commonly store a variety of personal information about their members and the people who support them. Mailing lists and donation records may be the most familiar repositories of personal information; however, the average church database is also likely to include Social Security numbers and payment card information.
Unsecured, this data could make church members vulnerable to criminals—putting church and ministry members at risk. What can you do to protect your members’ personal information? Start with these suggestions.
Improve physical security
How you and your staff handle information will go a long way to safeguarding the personal information you maintain about your members and your church or ministry.
Improve computer security
In today’s electronic age, your computer system can be a prime target of would-be hackers and other information thieves. Protect your system. If you can’t do it yourself, get the technical help you need.
Never take protecting personal information lightly. The integrity of your administrative and financial practices is always worth the effort you take to maintain information security. By carefully managing your members’ personal information, you are not only exercising good business practices, but you also are protecting your church or ministry from crippling data losses, embarrassing public disclosures, and potential lawsuits.