Cyber Crime’s Forgotten Victim—Your Company’s Reputation

Even though companies are finally starting to dedicate resources to prepare for cyber attacks, it’s possible that they may be overlooking a key exposure. While internal audits, hardware and software upgrades, and payouts to impacted customers can be costly, those costs can quickly be dwarfed by the damage a cyber attack can do to a company’s reputation.

The Dark Side of Social Media

Social media poses a huge threat to your company’s reputation. In the event of a data breach, traditional media coverage, blog posts and consumer reaction to the breach will dominate discussion of your company’s brand across social media platforms. Social media newsfeeds offer little to no distinction between legitimate news, biased reports, rumors and outright falsehoods, making the problem worse.

Additionally, social media is the perfect battleground for a competing interest to launch an attack on your brand. In fact, a white paper released by Hays suggests that the deliberate spread of false information about companies could be part of the next wave of cyber attacks launched by foreign governments.

Managing Your Reputation

In the wake of a cyber attack, it’s important to have a social media strategy in place and ready to roll out, as well as a team dedicated to monitoring social media in order to dispel any rumors and clarify any falsehoods. It’s also important to consider all avenues for mitigating your risk.

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