5 August 2026
We have been informed of a cyber security incident affecting Beacon, the third-party customer relationship management (CRM) database used by Noah's Ark Children's Hospice to manage supporter records.
What happened?
On 3 August 2026, Beacon informed us that it was investigating a cyber security incident involving unauthorised access to its systems through compromised credentials. As part of the incident, copies of Beacon's database backups were made. While it has not been confirmed that this data was exfiltrated (copied or removed from Beacon's systems), the evidence available so far suggests that the backups were likely downloaded. Beacon CRM is used by more than a thousand charities across the UK, meaning millions of individuals may potentially be affected by this incident.
What information could be affected?
The information held within Beacon may include personal details such as:
Names and contact details, including email addresses, telephone numbers and postal addresses.
Donation history.
Gift Aid information.
Correspondence with Noah's Ark Children's Hospice.
It is important to reassure our supporters that bank account details and debit or credit card numbers are stored in a separate, secure payment system and have not been affected by this incident. Similarly, Beacon is not the system we use to hold the care records of the children and families we support. Those records are stored separately and have not been affected.
What we are doing
As soon as we were notified, we began working closely with Beacon to understand the situation and ensure that appropriate action was being taken.
We have also taken immediate steps to strengthen the security of our systems, including:
Resetting connections between Beacon and third-party applications to prevent unauthorised access.
Changing all Noah's Ark Children's Hospice passwords for Beacon.
Reporting the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Beacon has advised us that it is:
Conducting a detailed forensic investigation with independent cyber security specialists.
Working with law enforcement and relevant regulatory authorities where appropriate.
Monitoring for any evidence that information connected with this incident has been disclosed or offered for sale. At present, there is no evidence that this has occurred.
Implementing additional security measures, including password resets.
We continue to work closely with Beacon to establish the full nature and extent of the incident and will provide further updates as more information becomes available.
What should you do?
At this stage, we have no evidence that any information has been misused. However, the information involved could potentially be used by criminals to make phishing emails, telephone calls or other fraudulent requests appear more convincing.
As a precaution, we recommend that you:
Be cautious of unexpected emails, telephone calls or messages claiming to be from Noah's Ark Children's Hospice.
Never provide passwords, bank details or security codes in response to an unexpected request.
Check the sender's email address carefully before responding to emails or opening links in emails or text messages.
Contact us directly if you receive anything suspicious that appears to come from the charity.
Please remember that Noah's Ark Children's Hospice will never contact you unexpectedly to ask for your password, your full payment card details or your online banking security codes.
Our commitment
We are very sorry that this incident has occurred and for any concern or anxiety it may cause. Protecting the information entrusted to us is extremely important, and we take our responsibility to safeguard it very seriously.
We are committed to being open and transparent throughout this process and will continue to keep our supporters informed as we learn more. Should the ongoing investigation identify any further information that affects you, we will contact you directly and provide additional guidance where appropriate.
Contact us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us on 020 8449 8877 or email enews@noahsarkhospice.org.uk.
