Could your company efficiently and quickly mitigate the damage of a cyberattack? Do you have cyber liability insurance, a detailed response plan and a solid leadership team? Proactive companies fare better, understanding how to thwart potential fallout from the attack, whereas businesses lacking cohesion and forethought flounder, struggling to regain faith with clientele. Don’t wait. Take time now to prepare for potential exposure.
Ensure Employees Know What To Do After a Data Breach
The Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2021 studies reveal a continuing increase in data breaches, with this year’s numbers far surpassing those of 2020. As of September 30 of this year, over 1,291 violations occurred, approximately 17% more than in 2020. Accept that breaches happen, and establish response procedures now.
Create a cyberattack response team that regularly collaborates on putting together post-breach protocols and security measures. During their sessions, the group should:
- Select someone to lead the aftermath response
- Write press releases in draft form, ready to notify customers of potential exposures
- Have an IT consultant crew available to test the system and expedite patches
- Craft employee protocols for securing technology and operations
- Discuss the purchase of cyber liability insurance to offset the impending financial losses
- Retain a lawyer who can handle any legal technicalities or class action suits
Relay the protocols to the appropriate department, ensuring that all parties understand their roles. When an attack occurs, the response team leader notifies key employees and initiates individual or departmental efforts. Swift, efficient action remains critical during a vulnerable time as staff members’ actions could mitigate further data loss.
Steer Clear of These Avoidable Post-Data Breach Mistakes
Roblox and Verizon both faced attacks within the past couple of years, emphasizing that no organization remains exempt from hacker intrusion. With customers closely watching how companies handle the exposure, owners must plan a response carefully. Mistakes can cripple recovery efforts and diminish the company’s reputation.
Learn from other institutions’ actions and errors, so you react wisely when the time comes. Leaders should not:
- Refuse to accept responsibility for the issue
- Ignore the value of coordination and leadership
- Dismiss the need for legal aid
- Decline to credit monitoring services
- Fail to have cyber liability insurance
Many places fail to communicate correctly. Don’t prolong providing clients with a general update on the system’s breach, explaining that you have professionals investigating. Be upfront about your efforts, and notify impacted customers as soon as possible. They require enough time to secure their credit and banking accounts. Sharing too much too soon also proves problematic. While you shouldn’t keep secrets, you don’t want to shift statements too often. Instead, gradually share news as your team verifies it.
Hackers attack unexpectedly, harming corporations and their customers. Reduce the effects of the violations by having measures in place to appropriately and efficiently handle the exposure.
About Haughn & Associates
Founded by Michael Haughn in 1986, Haughn & Associates is a full-service, family-owned, independent insurance agency based out of Dublin, Ohio. H&A strives to provide the best possible price and unique insurance solutions across a myriad of industries, including construction, IT, Habitation & Commercial Property, Agriculture, and Engineering. Devoted to providing the best of business insurance, life and disability insurance, personal insurance, employee benefits, and bonds, H&A is proof that success lies in long-standing client relations and satisfaction. To learn more about how H&A can be of service to you, contact us at (877) 802-2278.
