Data Breach! What PR Pros Need to Know When the Inevitable Happens

Stephen Payne, VP, Public Affairs & Privacy, Feld Entertainment

Data breach. In this ever-connected world, those words conjure fear, and rightly so. Click on an innocent-looking email, webpage URL or attachment, and the next thing you know, someone has access to your email or your company’s confidential files. Perhaps someone decides to hold your data hostage with ransomware. Regardless of how it happened, and it will eventually, there are certain things an organization’s communications team need to keep in mind.
Lawyers Are Your Friends
I know what you’re thinking: Is there any organization where PR and legal have not disagreed on strategy for communicating during a crisis? If so, I’d like to learn their secret.

In a data breach, lawyers are PR’s friends. But first, the necessary disclaimer. This article is not legal advice. I am not a lawyer, though I’ve worked with many. Still, if you rely solely on this article to guide you through a data breach, or any other potentially legally damaging event, then you will be missing out on useful legal advice.