From:
The Charity Commission
Published:
7 August 2026
The Charity Commission is aware of a recent cyber security incident involving Beacon CRM and the potential impact on charities that use its services.
We appreciate the concern this incident will have caused to the charities affected and their supporters.
Given the nature of this incident and the number of charities that may be affected, the Commission has been actively monitoring the situation and is in contact with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), as the lead regulator for upholding information rights and <a href="https://bitcomme.com/netapp-ntap-acquires-software-firm-to-deepen-ai-era-data-protection/” title=”NetApp (NTAP) Acquires Software Firm To Deepen AI Era Data Protection”>data protection law in the UK.
A number of affected charities have submitted serious incident reports to the Commission and we encourage trustees to continue to follow our guidance on serious incident reporting. This requires you to report incidents which results in or risks significant harm, loss or damage to the charity, its beneficiaries, assets, services or reputation.
Due to the volume of such reports expected on this matter alongside other incoming reports, it is likely to take longer than usual for the Commission to respond. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we prioritise instances of the greatest risk.
In the meantime, we would encourage trustees to consult the Commission’s guidance for charities on dealing with cyber crime and the ICO’s guidance for organisations.
Trustees should consider their reporting obligations to other regulators, notably the ICO, and to individuals whose data is stored on Beacon systems on behalf of your charity.
We know many Beacon customers have moved promptly to inform their supporters about this incident. Clear communication with your charity’s stakeholders is crucial to retaining trust and protecting the relationships that sustain your work.
We appreciate the additional resources charities will need to devote to addressing this issue and the Commission will seek to ensure its own regulatory engagement with affected charities is proportionate, while seeking to ensure trustees are fulfilling their responsibilities.
The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and any significant updates will be posted on this page.
