On Monday 3 August, The Circle was informed of a cyber security incident involving our supporter database provider, Beacon.
Beacon has informed us that they experienced a global cyber security incident affecting a number of charities and other organisations that use their platform. We were notified on Monday 3 August and have taken immediate action.
Beacon has since updated us last week to provide further information about the incident. Their investigation has assessed that an unauthorised actor likely gained access to its systems through compromised credentials. Beacon believes that all data held in its customer database, including attachment files, was likely downloaded in a readable format.
At this stage, there is no evidence that supporter data has been published online, shared on the dark web or misused, and no ransom demand has been received.
We want to reassure you that the information we hold about supporters is limited. This may include:
- Your name, email address and telephone number.
- Your postal address, where we have sent you information or supporter packs.
- A record of your donations, their value, your Gift Aid status, and any events or fundraising activities you have taken part in with The Circle.
We do not hold clinical information, safeguarding records, passwords, payment card details or bank account details within our supporter database. There is currently no evidence that any payment systems have been compromised, and payment card information is not stored within Beacon.
As soon as we became aware of the incident, we took immediate steps to protect your information, including:
- Revoking all integrations and API keys connected to Beacon.
- Reviewing and securing connections with other services, including forms, email platforms, payment integrations and other connected systems.
- Reviewing access and security measures across our systems.
- Working with Beacon and their cyber security specialists.
Beacon is carrying out a detailed forensic investigation, working with relevant authorities and regulators, monitoring for any signs of misuse, and putting additional security measures in place.
We have reported this incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as required and will continue to monitor developments.
Although we believe the risk to supporters is low, we recommend staying alert for unexpected emails, text messages or phone calls that appear to come from The Circle. Please do not click on suspicious links or share passwords, payment information or other sensitive details.
If you have any questions, please contact our team at [email protected]
If you would like to review our privacy policy to understand how we manage your data, please visit our website here.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
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