Churches may be easy targets for data theft. In a recent Church Executive article, author David A. Jones noted, “Frugal budgeting and limited resources in technological intelligence inherent with religious organizations often lead to weak security controls. The risk of losing data is high, given the scope of programs happening at all hours on and off campus.”
Not long ago, a locked file cabinet was all the data security a church needed. Now, it’s a different world. In April 2012, Robert Mueller III, director of the FBI, reported to The New York Times, “Cyber attacks [will] soon replace terrorism as the agency’s No. 1 concern.”
Is your church vulnerable to a cyber-attack? Take our quiz “Is Our Church Computer Safe?” to find out. Further training on this important topic is only a click away with Church Computer Safety, Preventing High-Tech Fraud, and Best Practices for Technology Usage.
Is Our Church Computer Secure?
If you answer “no” to any of these questions, consider those the areas your church needs to improve.
| 1 |
| Have you designated a church computer supervisor to oversee software, hardware, and usage? |
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| 2 |
| Do you have written policies outlining computer usage? |
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| Are employees and volunteers required to sign off that they have read and understand the policies? |
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| 4 |
| Is there a clear process on what equipment may and may not be used (e.g. personal computers, laptops, printers, etc.) and how the equipment may be used? |
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| Has there been money budgeted for software and hardware upgrades and maintenance? |
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| 6 |
| Is there a clearly defined policy on what files may be accessed, what sites are restricted, use of e-mail, and which software may be accessed? |
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| 7 |
| Does the administrator or technical person have access to all church-owned computers? |
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| 8 |
| Have spyware and anti-virus software been installed on all computers? |
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| 9 |
| Is there a method for backing up data on a regular basis to prevent a crash and loss of data? |
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| 10 |
| Are passwords assigned to every person that has access to computers? |
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| Are there clear guidelines as to what consequences there are for violating the church computer usage policies? |
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| 12 |
| Is all equipment physically secured to prevent theft? |
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| Is all computer equipment listed and covered on the church’s insurance policy, and is new equipment added when purchased? |
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| Click “Submit” to see your results. |
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