On Friday 24^th July we became aware of a news story regarding Blackbaud, one of the world’s largest providers of customer relationship management systems for not-for-profit organisations.  This reported that Blackbaud had been the victim of a ransomware attack in May 2020, where a cybercriminal was able to remove a copy of a subset of data from a number of their clients.

Different Strokes uses a Blackbaud product to record details of supporters and beneficiaries for the purpose of sending information packs, mailing list requests and donations.

As of the 27^th July Different Strokes had not been advised by Blackbaud that this data breach had affected us. However, with further investigation and after seeking urgent clarification from Blackbaud they have informed us that our data may have been accessed.

We would like to reassure you that no financial information, such as bank account details or credit card details was accessed during this hack.  However, it is possible that personal details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and whether someone is a stroke survivor may have been accessed.

Blackbaud have provided reassurances that the data that was hacked has subsequently been destroyed, and it is therefore highly unlikely that anyone on our database will be adversely affected by this.  However, we recommend that you stay vigilant, and report any suspicious activity or suspected identity theft to the proper law enforcement authorities.

In the meantime, we have reported this breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Further information from Blackbaud can be obtained here: https://www.blackbaud.com/securityincident