Is your members’ data secure?

Whether you’re a membership organisation or a sports club, you’ll likely have hundreds of people’s personal data in your care.

Keeping your members’ data secure is a task that is extremely important, but not always at the forefront of our minds. That is until something goes wrong.

We often hear in the news about data being misused by criminals so it can be worrying when keeping data safe falls on your shoulders. Having a secure membership database for your club / organisation is therefore crucial.

To help keep your members’ data safe, we’ve put together a helpful list of ways you can make your data more secure. We also explain how to alleviate that burden with the LoveAdmin software.

The types of data breaches you need to watch out for

The severity of data breaches can vary. But of course, it’s best to stop them from happening altogether.

Data breaches you need to watch out for include:

• The leak of members’ information
• Breach of employee data
• eCommerce / payment information hacks
• Human error

Luckily, there are many ways to avoid data breaches, whether they’re caused by having a paper-based system or cyber-attacks.

How to keep your members’ data secure

It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting your members’ data. In this section, we share five different data security practices you can implement to protect your club / organisation.

Remember, you don’t need to be a computer and GDPR whizz to be able to keep your members’ data secure. Instead, you can reduce the potential stress involved with a system like LoveAdmin’s membership management software.

Keep your members’ data in one safe place 

When your members’ data is stored in multiple areas, it can be almost impossible to ensure that it’s protected and safe. As your organisation grows, you’ll have to collect more members’ data. If you’re using spreadsheets, now is the time to look at implementing a more secure system.

When you store your members’ data in one location, you eliminate security risks and streamline your internal processes.

You can also aid GDPR compliance with a membership management system like LoveAdmin, enhancing your security and ensuring data recovery should human error happen.

Limit access to those who need it 

If you use traditional paperwork or spreadsheets to store your existing members’ details, you can’t fully control who can access the information. You never quite know who can view a document that’s been left on a table, is in an unprotected spreadsheet that is shared across email or on a shared computer.

It’s not always necessary for everyone to have access to everything. The LoveAdmin system allows you to be specific in what features and more importantly, data administrators and coaches can see. And when someone leaves your organisation, you can simply turn-off access so they can no longer see the data.

You should operate your club / organisation on a need-to-know basis when it comes to personal information. Having the ability to limit what each user can access and view can help to eliminate any data breaches.

Dedicated logins 

Similar to the above, it’s important to make sure you have dedicated logins with various user access rights for individuals. By doing so, you can limit access to only those who need it, while also protecting yourself from cyber attacks. Coaches and members who share the same login details are risking handing this information to hackers if they all use the same account. All a hacker needs is one username and password and they have access to it all.

Keep track of everything that happens internally by using individual logins for each person accessing your system. Then if a data breach does happen, you are in a position to potentially identify where the breach came from.

With the LoveAdmin system, all users are given their own accounts. This helps to minimise the risks of data breaches and protect members’ and staff’s personal information. Members are solely responsible for keeping their own personal information up to date.

Get an SSL certificate

If you don’t have an SSL certificate for your website yet, now’s the time to sort one out.

An SSL certificate shows visitors – and Google – that you’re a safe website. It essentially authenticates your website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection. This means hackers are not able to intercept any personal or payment data you’re sending and receiving.

Without an SSL certificate, site visitors will likely receive a warning message saying that the website is ‘not secure’ or that the ‘connection is not private.’ This could put potential members off your website as they might not want to entrust you with their personal information.

When you have installed an SSL certificate, site visitors will see a padlock and HTTPS within the URL.

As shown in the screenshot below, the LoveAdmin system has this built-in as a standard for all. For example, when a member goes to sign in, they are shown the padlock and SSL certificate.

Make sure you are GDPR compliant 

The General Data Protection Regulation 2018 is a set of legislation that gives individuals more control over the use of their data. As you’ll be aware, GDPR applies to any organisation / club that collects personal information such as next of kin information, safeguarding notes, medical information, email addresses and so on.

In order to be GDPR compliant, you need to ensure the following:

• Limit the amount of personal data you collect from members
• Be able to prove you have a lawful reason to collect the information
• Develop an updated GDPR compliance privacy policy
• Provide your privacy policy whenever personal data is collected
• Obtain consent from members before processing their personal data
• Ensure your privacy notices are in a language understood by children

Christine Jackson, Partner at law firm Wright Hassall , said: “Do not assume that everyone in the club is familiar with the processes, and what is required of them, let alone the consequences of not following them and exposing the club to risk”.

Failure to have the correct GDPR protocols in place can leave you open to data breaches and fines. Elizabeth Denham, UK Information Commissioner, said: “I want to be clear that this law is not about fines: it’s about putting the consumer and citizen first, and rebalancing data relationships and trust between individuals and organisations”.

Although GDPR compliance may feel like a minefield, it doesn’t have to be. The LoveAdmin membership management software has been built from the ground up with GDPR in mind, helping you to become GDPR compliant without the need for stress.

In order to help sports clubs and organisations comply with GDPR regulations, Sport + Recreation Alliance created a free tool kit.

How can LoveAdmin keep your data secure?

From limiting access, dedicated logins, aiding GDPR compliance and much more, the LoveAdmin membership software helps keep your members’ data protected.

Data security is important for all clubs / organisations, regardless of their size. Getting it right before an issue occurs is the smartest decision you can make.

For your peace of mind about how your club handles members’ data, the LoveAdmin platform is built on AWS Well Architected Framework for industry-standard security and data protection.

The LoveAdmin system allows you to:

• Help stay GDPR compliant
• Ensure you have an encrypted and secure members portal
• Have dedicated logins with various access levels and rights depending on the user
• Have an all-in-one system that meets every single one of your club / organisation needs

Why not see the LoveAdmin membership management software for yourself? Get a FREE demo of the system.