With more and more companies falling victim to cyber-attack, many are taking measures to encrypt their data and improve overall security efforts. But as an article on Fast Company reports, failing to communicate properly with staff is one safety precaution that is all too often neglected.
In light of this, the article offers some guidelines for ensuring that staff are updated and know what they need to do should a data breach occur.
1. Be proactive
Staff should be informed immediately if there has been a data breach – not by the media or through office whispers, but by management itself. Tell them what has happened and what they can do to help lessen the effects.
2. Be honest
Honesty is the best policy in the workplace, and it’s better to have your employees’ trust than to have them find something out later. So even if you don’t yet know the full impact of the hack, explain that to your employees; similarly, don’t hold back any information that you do know.
3. Communicate often
Having their private details stolen from company computers can be frightening for staff, so in the aftermath of an attack it’s important to keep communication lines open at all times. If nothing new has happened, put their minds at rest by informing them that you are still working on the issue.
4. Empower managers
In many cases employees will trust their direct manager more than a senior executive, whom it’s likely they will have never met. Give your mid- and lower-level managers some talking points they can use to discuss with their teams; they can also report back any issues to those at the top.
5. It goes both ways
Perhaps not immediately, but sometime after the breach employees should have the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns. Offer an e-mail address or phone number for them to contact, ensuring that the person on the other end has the right information and is able to respond quickly.
Read the whole article here
