CancerCare takes the privacy and security of personal data extremely seriously. Unfortunately, we have recently been made aware of a data breach that was experienced by Beacon, our supporter database provider.
We have been advised that this affects a large number of UK charities and other organisations, and that the breach may potentially involve copies of database backups being downloaded. The data may contain personal data such as: names, email address, phone number, postal address, donation information, records of your interactions with CancerCare as a supporter or donor, and in some instances, dates of birth and gender.
Please be reassured that Beacon does not hold any card or bank details, clinical, special category or sensitive personal information. CancerCare would like to stress that it does not use Beacon for any of its therapy records, health data, or information about any services you may have received from us.
Beacon have informed us that they acted quickly to identify the threat and secure their system; both they and CancerCare have notified the relevant authorities. We have notified the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), The Charity Commission and are emailing all those affected for whom we hold an email address.
We appreciate this may give you cause for concern. There is currently no evidence that your information has been published or misused, and we are not aware of any fraud or harm resulting from this incident. However, the information could potentially be used to make fraudulent requests, calls or to make phishing emails. We recommend being particularly vigilant of any unexpected calls or emails and to always verify any links before clicking on them.
Please be aware CancerCare will never call you directly to request donations, payment details or for sensitive information.
We are sharing with you what we know so far. The ICO considers the nature of our supporters’ data as low risk. However, please feel free to contact us at data@cancercare.org.uk if you have any further concerns and we will aim to respond to every query as quickly as possible.
Other useful links:
ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113
Charity Commission for England & Wales: 0300 066 9197
Beacon: www.beaconcrm.org