A data breach can be a company’s worst nightmare. From stakeholders, top management and employees to the customers and brand advocates, leaks of private data information can be a disaster to a company’s image and credibility.
Thankfully, there are business tactics that can serve as first-aid measures when a data breach happens. Two of these tactics include:
PR working closely with technology lawyers
The public relations (PR) team might have to act on their feet and come up with a press statement as soon as the data breach reaches the public’s eye. At this point, the PR can work closely with technology lawyers to ensure Internet law compliance for the business interest. Before releasing any statement to the public, the PR team should discuss the incident with technology lawyers to determine if the wording is correct and has no content that might incriminate the company in court if the incident escalates into litigation.
Reassure internal audience
Suppose the incident is highly likely to escalate into litigation. It is important to reassure your internal audience, also known as your employees and stakeholders. Business leaders can plan a company-wide town hall to discuss the events and how the teams in charge are addressing the problem. This can help boost their morale, especially when the data breach affects their optimism about the company’s trajectory.
This endeavor can also require on-the-feet planning and deliberation among top management, PR and technology lawyers to ensure that the town hall will not leak critical information that might incriminate the company in court.
A data breach does not need to be a nightmare. Sure, it can give C-suite and top management a reason to lose sleep. Still, with the right business continuity measures and proper legal assistance, this incident can be treated as a bump on the company’s journey that will propel it higher to its next milestone.
