Humanitarian assistance is driven by data and information. Through the whole chain of actions – from early warning systems to evaluation – information determines priorities, resource allocation, and donors’ willingness to donate. However, the potential harm that comes with data is often overlooked. Inadequate data management increases the potential of data to harm the same people humanitarians are trying to help. The goal of the presented research is to identify the characteristics and mechanisms that influence humanitarian interaction, with the aim to find those mechanisms that can influence humanitarians towards better information security. The most influential characteristics are analysed in order to determine what is likely to increase information security sector-wide.