Hospital charity supporters hit by cyber attack

The Sheffield Hospitals Charity has said that supporters' personal details may have been accessed in a data breach.

The charity has contacted people to inform them of a security incident involving Beacon CRM, a secure database system which the charity uses to manage information.

Beacon detected an incident on Monday affecting more than 1,000 charities and organisations. The charity has contacted supporters as a precaution and at this stage, there is no evidence personal information has been misused.

Information held may include names, postal and email addresses, telephone numbers, records of donations, volunteering or event participation and Gift Aid. Payment card details are not stored.

The number of people affected has not been released. The charity is independent of the hospital trust and does not hold any patient data, but people are advised to stay alert for any unexpected emails, phone calls or text messages asking for personal information.

Beacon said an unauthorised person had gained access to parts of its system using compromised login details. It is continuing to investigate to understand the full extent of what happened.

Beth Crackles, chief executive of the charity, has apologised and said swift action was taken.

"At this stage, there is no evidence that supporter information has been published or misused, and we are not aware of any fraud or harm resulting from this incident," she said in an email to individuals.

"Beacon has confirmed that an unauthorised person gained access to parts of their system and downloaded database back-ups. Beacon is continuing to investigate the incident and assess the potential impact.

"Beacon took immediate steps to secure their systems and contain the incident. They are now continuing to work with specialist cyber security experts and have notified the relevant authorities as part of their ongoing investigation."

The charity has reviewed the information that may have been affected and any potential risks to individuals.

It has also reported the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office, Charity Commission and Gambling Commission.

Crackles added in an email to supporters: "We're very sorry that we are having to contact you in these circumstances. We understand how important it is that your personal information is looked after carefully, and we want to reassure you that we are taking this matter seriously."

The charity aims to raise £2.5m every year to support NHS hospitals, community healthcare, mental health services and specialist care centres across Sheffield. It funds equipment and medical research that standard NHS budgets cannot cover.

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