In recent years, more corporate hacks and security breaches have been reported by the media than ever before. As countless well-known brands continue to suffer cyber attack incidents of mass destruction, cybersecurity has become a priority to most business owners.

It is important to note that almost every company is susceptible to cyber attacks, which if not handled correctly, could severely tarnish their reputation. Therefore, minimizing the impacts of a cyber attack for your stakeholders, employees and most importantly customers is your personal responsibility.

Since everyone is vulnerable to a cyber attack, here is what you can do in the event of such an incident.

Consult With Your IT Department

Having professional personnel that you trust to handle your IT department means that you’re not directly handling IT needs when a crisis hits. It doesn’t matter whether you have an external service provider or an internal department, the first thing to do when your company is hit by a cyber attack is to consult with this team to find a resolution.

Assess the Impact of the Crisis

You should first asses the impact of your cyber crisis before investigating the root cause. Your technical team should be able to do this before deciding on whether or not to call the Crisis Committee. Assessing the impact of a cyber crisis requires extra effort since you and your team will be gathering pieces of knowledge. However, it is crucial that you ensure the right resources are deployed to properly manage the crisis.

Remember, information is a vital weapon when fighting a cyber threat.

Update All the Parties Involved

Communication is key in times of crisis even if its the toughest element to master. Good communication can get you out of what seems to be a messy situation. Keeping in mind that you can’t fully control communication, ensure that you issue the right statements at the right time.

Let your messages about the cyber-crisis be as clear and honest as possible when dealing with your response. Transparency goes a long way in restoring one’s faith, especially during such times.

Follow Your Cybersecurity Plan

First and foremost, establish a plan to ensure that you already know what initial steps to take in a breach. A breach could happen anywhere along the supply chain and may become a crisis if not handled properly.  A simple recall plan should give you answers to ‘What If’ questions for potential cybersecurity issues.

Prepare for the Worst

It is essential to prepare for the event of a cyber attack. In fact, the more prepared you are the less impactful the crisis could be.

Since cyber threats are inevitable, they become just another risk factor that you have to manage. Remember to act fast, communicate and do proper damage control.