Digital Security Overview

Donor Management System

CanadaHelps takes the security of donors and charities very seriously. In our 20 years, we've maintained a spotless security record and continuously improve our digital security efforts.


How do we secure your data in the DMS?


All data is 100% secure, private, backed up and remains in Canada

  • All of CanadaHelps' data centres are located in Canada and are kept physically secure using a number of precautions (locked cages and cabinets, limited building access, and advanced security and surveillance systems)
  • Within these data centres, all of our servers have redundant backups and are constantly monitored for security breaches. 
  • We also perform daily backups of all data and store it for up to 30 days.
  • Access to production data including donor and charity PII requires 2-factor authentication by authorized personnel.
  • CanadaHelps never stores any credit card details on our servers. 


We ensure payment processing is secure

  • We follow stringent security standards and maintain the highest level of PCI (Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standards) compliance (currently 3.2.1 PCI)
  • PCI is the current gold standard in the industry and was created by major card brands, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX and JCB to ensure that processing, storing and transmitting credit card information is secure.
  • All of our data centres conform to these strict standards as well, as they can also be applied to the transmission and storage of any form of sensitive data.


We ensure we are current in all processes and standards

  • We've set monthly, quarterly and annual processes to ensure we meet or exceed the latest standards. 
  • And, in addition to being fully PCI compliant, we use an external Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) to ensure we're in full compliance. 
  • We also have an Extended Validation Certificate so that Canadians can trust that we've passed a rigorous independent audit of our encryption technology.


Supporting Documents

  • We do monthly vulnerability scans and make the results available on a quarterly basis.  The current scan is available upon request.


Security Policies

  • CanadaHelps has clearly written policies to prevent and deal with security breaches should they occur. 
  • We also perform background checks on all employees and require them to read and understand our corporate policies regarding the handling and protection of sensitive data.