FAQ's

System requirements

What hardware is required?

No special hardware is required as Charitylog / Crossdata is an internet (web) application. It is therefore possible to login from any desktop PC, laptop, or mobile device that has an internet connection and browser. It will also run on iPads, most tablets, and smartphones.

How fast should my internet connection be?

Connection speeds are rarely an issue these days. A minimum of 2Mbps is recommended. For reference, Ofcom stated that the average UK home broadband speed in September 2022 was 65.3Mbps.

What browser do I need?

Edge, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari are supported. Internet Explorer is no longer supported. It is important that your browser is kept up to date as we only support the two latest versions.

What other software do we need?

No other software is required, although Microsoft Excel is a useful reporting tool.

Licensing & training

How is the system licenced?

Licensed for 5 concurrent users on the Starter plan, 10 on the One plan, and unlimited on the Plus and Ultimate plans. Additional licenses are available at extra cost.

What training is provided?

A specific number of days will be included in our proposal for Charitylog Standard to ensure the implementation goes smoothly and the setup is matched to your needs and reporting requirements. Charitylog One includes a specific number of getting started sessions. Additional days may be purchased, as and when needed, for refresher training or for new staff joining the organisation. These days can be delivered remotely. They may also be delivered onsite if the company deems it safe to do so.

User management & security

Does each user have their own unique identifier?

Yes. There are two levels of login – first, the user needs the organisation username and password. After this, they need their own username and password. Accounts will lock out after 3 invalid login attempts. Resets are then done via an approved administrator with the appropriate validation checks, i.e., confirming that the user is who they say they are.

What if passwords are forgotten?

The local administrator controls this and will provide new passwords subject to rigorous authentication procedures.

Are strong passwords enforced?

Yes. The following options regarding passwords apply:

Minimum Length of User Username

Minimum number of uppercase characters in Username

Minimum number of numeric characters in Username

Number of weeks before user password change required

Minimum length of user passwords

Minimum number of uppercase characters in passwords

Minimum number of numeric characters in passwords

Prevent immediate re-use of the same password if a password is changed.

All passwords are combined with a ‘salt’ before they are encrypted. The salt is periodically changed. This prevents rainbow-based attacks against dictionary passwords. We also check the password entered against previous and current salts to check for reuse.

Does the system use hard-coded or clear text passwords in the code, database, or other files?

No hard-coded passwords exist in the software.

Does the system allow different user profiles that permit different access / read / write / delete / create actions for individuals and groups of users to be established?

Yes.

Does the system time out after a period of inactivity and log the user out?

Yes, after 60 minutes. This can be reduced at an organisation level.

What technical and organisational measures do we use to restrict and regulate our employee’s access to customer’s data?

Only named employees have access to client data, specifically for Data Migration services. This access is restricted by permissions on the network. Access to the production servers is also restricted to a controlled location. Access to data is audited including any failed access. If a client requests a change to their data, this is done using an administration panel to complete the update without displaying it. It is also carried out in a test environment first.

Do we operate a password change policy?

Yes, our systems require strong passwords, minimum of 8 characters, including capitals, numbers, and special characters. Passwords require changing every 90 days. Users cannot use the previous 10 passwords.

Can individual user activity be monitored and audited?

The system maintains a secure audit trail that records all successful and unsuccessful attempts to access the system including user, date, and time. The IP address from which the login was attempted is also recorded.

Software features & integrations

What other apps does the system integrate with?

Your website, to streamline inbound referrals, recruitment etc., using our embedded web forms. Loqate for address lookups using postcodes TextAnywhere for sending SMS messages Microsoft for email and calendars Google maps, for displaying the geographical distribution of your volunteers, service users, etc., and time/distance calculations.

Can I share information securely with project partners?

Yes. The local administrator can control this through the branch feature.

Can data be restricted to named individuals or groups and hidden from others?

Yes. The local administrator is able to manage the visibility of individual and/or group data sets as required.

Can we integrate the system into our website?

Yes, our web forms can be used to collect self-referrals, or from others such as GPs, straight from your website. You'll need to edit the code on your website, but it's a single line change, and our support team will show you how to do it.

Support & documentation

What documentation is available?

All features are thoroughly documented in our manual, which is what you are reading now! Every page in the application has a page in the manual - click the question mark in the top right. We record videos on specific topics and embed them into the manual together with uploading them to our webinar library for viewing whenever required.

Do you have a support desk?

A telephone support line is also available during office hours (9 am – 5 pm) from Monday to Friday. We also provide support via email.

Software updates & bug fixes

How is the system upgraded?

Software upgrades are scheduled to take place at around 4-month intervals. Details of forthcoming upgrades are posted on the website, and you can subscribe to update emails on your user record.

How are bugs fixed?

All bugs are reported through a formalised reporting procedure which firstly establishes that the report is in fact a bug and then, if confirmed, allocates resources to its resolution. Bugs which prevent the operation of the system are given a high priority and are usually fixed in a few hours, whilst others with lower impact may take longer. In very low priority cases, the resolution may be delayed until the next software release stage.

What software development methodology is used?

Dizions uses a tried and tested approach which incorporates elements of Agile, such as a focus on user stories over rigid specifications, short iterations, and face-to-face interactions. We do not believe rigidly sticking to any particular methodology is compatible with the continuous improvement needed for ISO9001. All code changes are logged as RFCs in our ticketing system, with a defined workflow which includes code review by another developer, static code analysis, and testing by our QA team.

Infrastructure & data management

Where is data stored?

The system is hosted on AWS. AWS is divided into regions, and each region is divided into Availability Zones. We only use the UK region, which ensures your data stays in the UK. The live databases can only be in a single zone, but the backups are spread across multiple zones within the UK region, to provide resiliency against, for instance, the physical destruction of a data centre. There is no need for any local data storage, e.g., on your laptop, although clients may take local backups of their data when required. In this situation, the client will be responsible for the security of the local backups.

Will any of my data be shared or mined?

No. Your data is your own. Your T&Cs with Dizions, and Dizions' T&Cs with AWS, specifically rule this out.

Are the database servers shared by other systems?

No. Read about AWS's industry-leading logical separation here. Each organisation has its own database.

Is the data encrypted at rest?

Yes, using AES with 256-bit encryption (high).

Do we use a shared SAN for backups?

No, we do not use Storage Area Networks. Read more about AWS's industry-leading logical separation here.

What security measures are in place at the data centre?

Read about AWS' robust defences on this page.

What is the uptime, and how do we maximize it?

The system is designed to be resilient, with many components duplicated so that in the event of failure, another component can take over. The system has three layers: application, database, and backup. Each layer has its own resilience. The application layer, e.g., web servers, is spread across multiple availability zones and can scale up or down depending on load. As a result of this, typical uptime is much higher than the SLA figure of 99.9%, e.g. in 2023 the figure was 99.95%.

How do we deploy updates to servers and infrastructure?

System updates are scheduled monthly with a separate change management process. Servers are deployed using infrastructure-as-code, which allows us to spin up new environments or roll back changes rapidly.

What process and procedures are applied to remove unnecessary services from running automatically on operating systems?

We use a ‘hardened’ operating system build based on industry standards such as CIS (Centre for Internet Security). This includes removing unnecessary services and using a minimal build for deployment.

Data protection & compliance

Is the system GDPR compliant?

Dizions as a business is. There is no formal accreditation for software products to be GDPR compliant. The system does however, have an integrated set of tools to enable your organisation to be fully compliant with the GDPR.

Is Dizions Ltd registered with the Information Commissioners Office?

Yes. Our registration number is Z2460686.

Have we appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO)?

Yes, we have a DPO who oversees our compliance with the GDPR and our Data Protection policies.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applies to public authorities such as local authorities and government agencies. Dizions Ltd is not a public authority, therefore FOIA does not apply to us. However, we are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a data processor and are compliant with GDPR. Our services are used by some public authorities, who will likely require their use of our systems to comply with FOIA. We will cooperate with these requirements where appropriate.

How do we handle data breaches?

We take data security very seriously. In the unlikely event of a data breach, we have a formal Incident Response Procedure in place. This involves identifying the breach, containing it, and notifying affected clients and the ICO within 72 hours. We also perform a root cause analysis to prevent a recurrence.

Do you confirm to HMG Security Policy Framework 2018?

The HMG Security Policy Framework is a set of mandatory security policies for government departments. While it doesn’t apply directly to us, we do take it into account when designing our systems to ensure that they meet or exceed government security standards.

Cybersecurity

What SSL security is used?

The system uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates to establish an encrypted connection between the user’s browser and the server. This prevents third parties from eavesdropping on the communication. We use a 256-bit SSL certificate, the same level of encryption used by banks and financial institutions.

What security certification do we have?

We have Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO27001 certification.

Are our staff trained for information security?

Yes, all staff undergo regular information security training. This includes GDPR training, awareness of phishing attacks, and secure coding practices for our developers.

What quality checking is performed on code to prevent vulnerability such as SQL injection?

All code is peer-reviewed by another developer, and static code analysis is used to identify potential security vulnerabilities. SQL injection vulnerabilities are specifically checked for, and any user input is sanitized before being passed to the database.

How is data protected during transfer to and from the server?

Data is transferred using SSL, which ensures that the data is encrypted during transmission. Additionally, all data is encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption.

Is the software penetration tested?

Yes, we commission external penetration tests at least once per year, using a CREST-certified supplier.

Can I have a copy of the latest penetration report?

No, this is a commercially sensitive document of a technical nature, which is not shared with 3rd parties. In line with our ISO 27001 accreditation, we act on any recommendations from the report in a timely manner.

Can I conduct my own penetration test?

No. We commission a pen test annually, which is conducted by a CREST accredited organisation. If we let other companies conduct such work independently, we would have to audit them as part of our ISO27001 accreditation, to make sure they were keeping their qualifications and accreditations up to date. We are also contractually obliged by the data centre to provide them with details of the scope all tests, and give them sufficient notice to avoid false alerts by their own mitigation systems.

Do we commission penetration tests on our internal office network and systems?

Yes, our internal office network and systems are also subject to penetration tests to ensure they are secure.

How do I reduce the risk of cyber attacks?

You can reduce the risk of cyber attacks by ensuring your systems and software are up to date, using strong passwords, and being vigilant against phishing attacks. We also recommend using antivirus software and enabling two-factor authentication.

What is the policy for the use of laptops and mobile devices?

Laptops and mobile devices must be password-protected and have encryption enabled. They should also be kept up to date with the latest security patches. We recommend enabling remote wipe functionality in case a device is lost or stolen.

What is our policy for the use of removable media such as memory sticks and CD/DVDs?

We do not use any removable media. All removable media is physically blocked on our network.

Should I connect to the system using public WIFI?

We advise against connecting to the system using public WIFI, as these networks are often not secure. If you must use public WIFI, use a VPN to encrypt your connection.

What are the business continuity arrangements?

We have a robust Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that is tested regularly. This includes regular backups, a disaster recovery plan, and the ability to work remotely if necessary.

Company information & legal

What type of business is Dizions?

We are a software house and Charitylog / Crossdata are brands (trading) names of Dizions Ltd. Dizions Ltd is a private limited company registered in Scotland – registration no SC340502. Registered office: c/o Henderson Kildavaig, 109/14 Swanston Road, Edinburgh EH10 7DS.

When did Dizions start in business?

Dizions started trading in 2004 and was incorporated in 2008.

How many people do we employ?

Dizions currently employs 27 people.

Does our company hold a recognised quality management certification?

Yes, Dizions Ltd is ISO 9001:2015 certified.

What insurance cover do we have?

Dizions Ltd has public liability insurance, employers' liability insurance, and professional indemnity insurance. Details can be provided upon request.

Have any claims been made against us in the last five years?

No claims have been made against Dizions Ltd in the last five years.

Termination & data removal

How do I extract my data at the end of the contract if I don't renew?

At the end of the contract, you will have the option to download your data as a SQL file and/or spreadsheets.

What happens to my data?

Once you have extracted your data, your databases and documents will be securely deleted from our systems. After that, they will be retained as part of our automated backups for 28 days. This is all managed through AWS retention policies, so you can be assured that your data is permanently deleted and irrecoverable after that point.

Is the storage media physically destroyed to ensure my data is really deleted?

This used to be common practice when decommissioning dedicated physical servers, and often involved shredding or crushing hard drives! Fortunately with cloud computing, securely erasing data is baked into the platform. See AWS Data Privacy