The Top 5 Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make After a Data Breach

It seems as though in modern times, it’s no longer if your organization gets breached but rather when. Since this is a sensitive issue as of late, being prepared may seem daunting since you never really know if your organization is fully protected from possible breaches.

If your organization does find themselves amongst a breach of security, here are the top five mistakes you don’t want to make in the aftermath:

1. Not having a communication or plan of action set in place before the breach. Companies should have a well-documented and tested communications plan in the event a breach does occur. Lacking this can cause issues relating to responsibility, timeliness and delayed responses to media.
2. Don’t try to deal with the entire breach in-house. Use external sources like Verizon Business, Experian, Trustwave or IBM to help with the response of the breach. Having communications and contingency plans with one or more of these organizations will do your company good in short and long term.
3. Don’t discount your in-house or an external legal team. Since no single law paints a broad stroke across all possible ramifications surrounding the data breach, it is important to extend your hand out to external legal professionals so you can properly understand any legal consequences that have risen due to the breach.
4. Don’t have all decisions made by one person in charge, but rather a team of leaders. Having more input and responsibility across the board makes for a better outcome than from just one decision maker.
5. Don’t wait for perfect information before acting. Typically, dealing with data breaches involves incomplete or rapidly changing information. Companies need to begin the process of dealing with the breach even though all information may not be available or is constantly changing. 

By acting on these tips within your organization, a data breach can be a little less catastrophic and more something that can be dealt with on a more detailed, focused and stress free level.