<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.noobpreneur.com/2018/11/23/communication-means-everything-in-times-of-cyber-crisis/">https://www.noobpreneur.com/2018/11/23/communication-means-everything-in-times-of-cyber-crisis/</a></div></div><div dir="ltr"><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">Up to $1.1 million is lost to cybercrime every minute, <a href="https://threatpost.com/threatlist-1-1m-is-lost-to-cybercrime-every-minute-of-every-day/136871/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Threat Post</a>.
While a good part of this cost comes from the damage that
cybercriminals inflict on an organization, some of it comes in the form
of reputation damage. In the wake of a cyber-attack, most IT
professionals might find it easier to keep the information about the
attack a secret while they try to fix the situation.</p>
<p class="gmail-western" lang="en">Sadly, this might result in more losses
than the attack itself would cost. In case shareholders and other
corporate citizens hear about the breach from other sources other than
official communication from the compromized party, chances are that they
will lose trust in you. Furthermore, effective communication internally
will ensure that you can remedy the situation in good time before too
much damage occurs.</p><h2 class="gmail-western">Effective Communication Starts With A Good Plan</h2><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">Is your firm threat-ready? Communication
cannot be effective enough if it’s not based on the foundation of clear
security guidelines. To be optimally threat-ready, you need to have an
incident response plan in place. Additionally, your internal team ought
to know the plan by heart which makes testing the plan often worthwhile.</p><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">For instance, if you have a security tool such as a <span style="color:rgb(0,0,128)"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://papertrailapp.com/log-analyzer">log analyzer</a></u></span></span>
in place, your IT team needs to be trained how to most effectively
interpret information from those tools. They also need to know who is
supposed to do what during a crisis, to avoid nightmarish chaos. As
such, communication starts long before the crisis, through training
staff members and testing your security solutions.</p><h2 class="gmail-western">Trust Means Everything</h2><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">Businesses are all founded on trust with
your customers entrusting you with their personal information. In the
wrong hands, such information could be an easy way for criminals to
commit identity theft. During the wake of a crisis, customers will
typically wonder if their privacy is compromised, and whether this will
mean the end of your business. Having your PR team address these fears
carefully will help calm the customers, as well as solidify the trust
they have in you. For instance, in <span style="color:rgb(0,0,128)"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://blog.trendmicro.com/equifax-breach-example-good-communications/">the Equifax data breach</a></u></span></span>, the fact that the company communicated with the customers’ whose data had been compromised cleared the air quickly.</p><h2 class="gmail-western">Effective Communication Boosts Remediation</h2><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">
</p><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">While external communication will work to
calm down stakeholders, internal communication will help in remediation
of the situation. Employees need to communicate with each other now more
than ever, and collaborate in eliminating the threat. For instance,
there needs to be a protocol in place to alert your IT staff of a breach
when it occurs. In case the threat has compromised some of your key
communication channels, it only makes sense to use alternative channels.
This will ensure that the enemy cannot eavesdrop into your remediation
plan and use it against you.</p><h2 class="gmail-western">You Need To Communicate With Third-Party Security Agents</h2><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">If the situation is really bad, it makes
sense to get in touch with third-party security agents. For them to be
effective enough in their job, you will need to understand the situation
you are in down to a “T”. The quicker you can establish a containment
plan, the easier it will be to mitigate the damages that the situation
exposes your organization to. To excel at this, it is best to have
already set up <span style="color:rgb(0,0,128)"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogertrapp/2018/07/25/collaboration-is-the-way-to-beat-the-cyber-attackers/#344070811823">effective collaboration channels</a></u></span></span> with third-party agencies such as detectives and security companies.</p><h2 class="gmail-western">Conclusion</h2><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">
</p><p class="gmail-western" lang="en">Every second counts in the wake of a
cybersecurity breach. Effective communication will ensure that you keep
customers happy, as well as champion your remediation program. Evaluate
your communication infrastructure regularly to avoid being caught off
guard during a cyber-attack.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>