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Cybercrime and the communication conundrum

October 21, 2016 by Jonathan Hemus

 

When Sony remained tight-lipped in the aftermath of a cyber-attack on its PlayStation Network, it was castigated for withholding important information from its customers.

When Talk Talk quickly went public, it was criticised for its vague response.

It feels like a no win situation. So how, what and when should you communicate if you are the victim of cyber crime?

The answer lies in crisis management planning ahead of an incident: kneejerk decisions under intense pressure can spell reputational disaster.

cyber crime crisis management

Planning your cyber crime response

Key actions to prepare yourself for a cyber attack include:

  • Assessing the potential reputational impacts of cyber crime on your particular organisation – what are your ‘crown jewels’?
  • Determining who to have on your cyber incident response team (and briefing them ahead of time)
  • Preparing communication materials beforehand to save time and achieve ‘in principle’ agreement for messaging
  • Engage in scenario planning to help you make quicker and better decisions in the event of an incident
  • Run cyber-crime crisis simulation exercises to test your plans and rehearse your teams

Security and cyber experts are working flat out to develop safeguards and technological solutions to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. Sadly they can never be 100% successful, so planning how you would communicate in the event of a cyber-attack is essential.

To download our full 10 step guide to cyber crisis communication planning for more information simply click the resource below.

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