Protecting Your Church in the Digital Age

One of the hallmarks of the Subsplash culture is care. Care for employees, care for our city, and care for the customers we serve. That care isn’t just confined to the products we create or services we deliver; the holistic success of our church partners is what makes us tick. That’s why we’re taking the time to address an area in which we feel the church’s collective guard has been let down: digital security.

Many churches have spent decades drafting best practices for ensuring the physical security of their buildings and the emotional security of their relationships. But digital security has caught many off guard. We understand that you may not be able to devote the time and attention that faultless protection requires. But these three basic guidelines can go a long way in establishing a culture of digital vigilance among your staff.

Email is not secure

Consider these events: Sony’s scandal-ridden premiere of The Interview, the 2016 US Presidential Election, and the 2017 French Presidential Election. The common denominator? Radical disruption from simple email mistakes. The bottom line: email is not a secure mechanism for sending personally identifiable information. Here are a few of the cards you should keep close to your chest:

• Social Security Numbers
• Dates of Birth
• Bank Account Numbers
• Credit Card or Debit Card Numbers

Think of your next email as a handwritten note, one left of the bus for all to read. What would you write in that note? Rather than sending sensitive information over email, use the secure web portals established by trusted vendors like Subsplash. If that’s not possible, go old school: make a call.

Pause before clicking on an attachment

If email is a note left of the bus, an attachment from someone you don’t know is a mysterious package left on the sidewalk. Only open attachments from people you know and are expecting to receive information from. Hackers sometimes use hacked accounts to send virus-laden emails to contact lists, in hopes that the recipient will open the mysterious attachment based on the sender’s name. Listen to your gut. When in doubt, send your contact a text to make sure they’re actually behind the attachment.

Protect your passwords

In the wrong hands, a single password can open more doors than your building’s master key ever could. Bank accounts. Confidential communications. Contact lists. The prevalence of passwords doesn’t make them inconsequential. It makes them integral to your security. Here are our four tips for password mastery:

• Use different passwords for different accounts.
• Create a strong password by using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numerals, and characters ($&@!#>), or use password management software to generate and store passwords.
• Change your passwords every six months.
• Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.
• Don’t give out your password; no reputable company will ever ask for it.
• Don’t write passwords down where others can view them.

There you have it: three simple tips for establishing a culture of digital security among your church staff. At Subsplash, we’re dedicated to keeping your information secure. To learn how we safeguard our digital assets, check out our Giving Security page.