Expert guidance for charities on cyber risk and data protection

Guidance for charities

We hosted our annual Charities Seminar at Marsham Court Hotel, where around 25 different charities and organisations attended to hear from expert speakers.

Our external expert speakers included Principle Consultant, George Complin from Grapevine IT Solutions and Portfolio Manager for Cyber, Technology & Commercial Crime, James Trevis from NFU Mutual Insurance. The panel of Ellis Jones experts included our Managing Partner, Nigel Smith, Partner & Solicitor Kate Brooks, Partner & Solicitor Victoria Riddleston and Associate Chartered Legal Executive Rosemary Drew.

We always ask our guests to provide us with feedback as to what topics they would be interested in for future events. Following feedback from our 2025 seminar, our speakers tailored this year’s seminar to focus on cyber risk and data protection, which are key areas charities fed back that they would benefit from guidance on.

Understanding today’s cyber security threats

George Complin spoke on the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, from phishing attacks and ransomware to data breaches and AI, uncovering the real threats facing organisations today, as well as the reasons that charities are increasingly in the spotlight. He also shared practical and cost-effective strategies to help charities and their teams to safeguard sensitive data, spot and stop common cyber attacks and build a culture of security awareness.

Managing and insuring against cyber risk

James Trevis discussed how to avoid common cyber risk pitfalls, the importance of insurance for charities and guidance on selecting the correct policy. He also spoke about what happens in the event of a cyber insurance claim and how to avoid the need for claims and mitigate damage.

Supporting charities

A panel of experts from our Ellis Jones Charities Team, along with our external speakers then opened the discussion up to the room for a Q&A session where there were lots of questions surrounding keeping data secure, what insurance policies can cover in relation to data and what to do in the event of a data breach.

In previous years, our seminars have covered topics including trustee investment duties, charitable giving and rejecting legacies, along with charity law & governance with contentious trusts & probate.

Sign up to our charities mailing list

We would like to thank those who joined us for our seminar, if you would like to hear about our upcoming charity events, you can sign up to our mailing list.