Retailer TJ Maxx holds the dubious honor of having the largest data theft ever, with over 45 million credit and debit card numbers stolen from their IT systems back in 2007. Crisis management experts know that data breaches can be one of the most devastating types of crises to deal with because nearly every aspect of business is involved. An article published today on the PRWeek website explains:
Companies must balance the needs of many internal and external stakeholders, yet the goals of each of these parties might conflict. Internally, legal, risk management, and privacy officers, as well as marketing and even security executives, must be involved. External stakeholders with their own agendas can include partners, customers, shareholders, vendors, and law enforcement. The involvement of so many departments can make it difficult for communications pros to respond to media, investors, and other stakeholders in a timely manner.
Although these incidents are devastating, the effects can be lessened by developing a crisis response plan and rehearsing it with everyone involved. When a crisis does strike you will be able to skip the planning stage and leap right into action, saving your business and its reputation.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com