Consortium of Leading Cyber Technology and Insurance Providers Announce the Launch of SafeHouseInitiative.org
January 17, 2023
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By David Lewis, VP of Business Development, Nteraction
In today’s digital age, organizations and individuals rely heavily on technology for communication, data storage, and business operations. However, this increased dependence on technology comes with a significant risk – cyber outages. These outages can disrupt operations, compromise data security, and damage an organization’s reputation. To mitigate the impact of cyber outages, it is essential to have a wholistic approach to cyber continuity and event mitigation along with a multimodal outside communication channel to inform, instruct, and educate your stakeholders and constituents. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of having an outside communication channel in responding to cyber outages and provide insights into how organizations can establish and maintain effective multimodal communication strategies.
A cyber outage refers to a disruption in an organization’s digital infrastructure caused by various factors, such as cyberattacks, hardware failures, software glitches from upgrades, bugs, or other errors, or even natural disasters. These outages can have far-reaching consequences for your business, including:
· Disruption of Operations: Cyber outages can bring an organization’s operations to a standstill, affecting productivity and causing financial losses. 40% of small businesses experienced eight or more hours of downtime due to a cyber breach, costing, on average, $1.56 million in losses.1
· Data Loss or Theft: Cyberattacks can result in data breaches, leading to the loss or theft of sensitive information, including customer data and intellectual property. An Australian Health Insurer, Medibank, had nearly 10M health insured’s medical data hacked and is now on the Dark Web.2
· Reputation Damage: One of the “long tail” impacts of a cyber attack is damaging your company’s reputation. Public perception of an organization can be tarnished if it fails to respond effectively to a cyber outage, eroding trust among customers, partners, and stakeholders. Publicly traded companies that have had a cyber breach (especially those that have had critical data stolen) suffered an average decline of 7.5% in their stock values after a data breach, coupled with a mean market cap loss of $5.4 billion.3
· Legal and Regulatory Consequences: Another “long tail” impact of a cyber outage is the legal and regulatory issues and resulting fines. Data breaches and cyber outages can lead to legal and regulatory penalties, further escalating the financial impact. Cyber intrusions, further enabled by weak security, cover-ups or avoidable mistakes (i.e. human error) have cost companies a total of nearly $4.4 billion in 2023 in fines and penalties.4
Given the potential consequences, it is imperative for organizations to have robust strategies for dealing with cyber outages, and a critical component of these strategies is establishing effective Communication Plans that include outside communication channels.
Multimodal communication involves using multiple channels and methods to convey information. Relying solely on one communication channel in a cyber outage is risky. Here’s why a cyber incident communication plan that includes multimodal communication is so crucial:
· Redundancy: A single communication channel can be vulnerable to the same cyber threats that caused the outage. There are multiple examples where cyber attackers targeted communication equipment to gather sensitive information including conversations or to simply shut down the service completely. By having multiple channels, organizations reduce the risk of losing all communication capabilities during an outage.
· Resilience: Different communication channels may have varying degrees of resilience. Some may be more resistant to cyberattacks or physical damage than others. This diversity enhances an organization’s ability to maintain communication during an outage.
· Accessibility: Not all stakeholders prefer the same communication methods. Having a variety of channels ensures that information reaches a broader audience, accommodating diverse preferences and needs.
Creating an effective multimodal outside communication channel for cyber outages requires careful planning and consideration. Here are the steps to get started:
· Identify Key Stakeholders: Begin by identifying the stakeholders who need to be informed during a cyber outage. This may include employees, customers, partners, agents, regulatory authorities, the press and the general public. Categorize these stakeholders, according to the type and severity of cyber occurrence, each should be contacted.
· Select Communication Channels: Choose a variety of communication channels that are suitable for reaching different stakeholder groups. These should include email, text messaging(SMS/MMS), social media, instant messaging like WhatsApp, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and others, website announcements, phone hotlines, and even physical mail.
· Implement Redundancy: Within each selected channel, implement redundancy where possible. For instance, use multiple email servers, ensure mobile networks have backup power, and employ geographically dispersed data centers for website hosting.
· Establish Protocols: Develop clear communication protocols and procedures for each channel. Specify who is responsible for sending updates, how frequently updates should be provided, and the type of information to include.
· Train Personnel: Ensure that employees responsible for communication during an outage are trained in the use of all selected channels and are aware of their roles and responsibilities.
· Test the System: Regularly test the multimodal communication system to ensure it functions as intended. Simulate cyber outage scenarios and evaluate the effectiveness of your communication strategies.
In today’s fast-paced digital environment, automation plays a critical role in responding to cyber outages. Automated systems can quickly detect an outage, trigger predefined communication protocols, and disseminate information to stakeholders. Here are some ways automation can enhance multimodal communication during cyber outages:
· Monitoring and Detection: Automated monitoring tools can detect cyber outages in real-time and automatically initiate the remediation as well as the communication process.
· Message Templates: Predefined message templates can be used to ensure that accurate and consistent information and instructions are disseminated across all communication channels.
· Alert Escalation: Automation can facilitate the escalation of alerts. For example, if an initial communication attempt fails, the system can automatically try alternative channels.
· Data Backup and Recovery: Automated backup and recovery systems can help safeguard critical data and minimize downtime during an outage.
· Incident Response: Automation can be integrated into incident response plans to streamline communication and decision-making processes.
To illustrate the effectiveness of multimodal communication channels during cyber outages, let’s explore two real-world case studies:
In one of the most significant data breaches in history, Equifax, a credit reporting agency, suffered a cyberattack that exposed sensitive information of over 147 million people. Equifax faced severe backlash for its initial response, which was criticized for being slow and ineffective.
Lesson Learned: Equifax’s case underscores the importance of having a well-established communication plan and multimodal outside communication channel. A more proactive, complete and efficient response could have mitigated the damage to its reputation.
The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack disrupted fuel supply along the East Coast of the United States. Colonial Pipeline utilized a multimodal communication approach to keep stakeholders informed, including the public, during the outage.
Lesson Learned: Colonial Pipeline’s response demonstrated the value of transparency and timely communication. Their multimodal approach helped mitigate panic (to some degree) and informed the public about the situation. Even though Colonial Pipeline used a multimodal communication approach, the result demonstrated the need for further tuning, enhancement and training.
In an age where cyber outages are a constant threat, organizations must prioritize the development and maintenance of effective multimodal outside communication channels. These channels serve as a lifeline during crises, ensuring that stakeholders receive timely and accurate information, thus reducing the negative impact of cyber outages.
In summary:
Cyber outages can have severe consequences for organizations, making proactive communication essential.
Multimodal communication channels offer redundancy, resilience, and accessibility.
Establishing these channels involves identifying stakeholders, selecting communication methods, implementing redundancy, setting protocols, training personnel, and testing the system.
Automation plays a crucial role in detecting outages, disseminating information, and streamlining incident response.
Real-world case studies highlight the significance of effective communication during cyber outages.
By embracing multimodal communication and automation, organizations can better navigate the challenges posed by cyber outages and protect their operations, reputation, and stakeholders. As technology continues to evolve, so too must our strategies for communicating during crises.
Sources
1 The 15 biggest data breaches of the 21st century, by Michael Hill and Dan Swinhoe, CSO Online, Nov 08, 2022
2 Medical data hacked from 10m Australians begins to appear on dark web, by Ben Doherty, The Guardian, Nov 11, 2022
3 The Devastating Business Impacts of a Cyber Breach, by Keman Huang, Xiaoqing Wang, William Wei, and Stuart Madnick, Harvard Business Review, May 04, 2023
4 The biggest data breach fines, penalties, and settlements so far, by Michael Hill, CSO Online, Sep 18, 2023
