How community engagement rebuilds trust after a breach

Welcome to the new 297 cyber warriors who joined us last week. Each week, we'll be sharing insights from the Black Hat MEA community. Read exclusive interviews with industry experts and key findings from the #BHMEA stages.

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This week we’re focused on…

Rebuilding trust after a cybersecurity incident. 

Why? 

Because when we asked Lakshmi Hanspal (Strategic Advisor and Investor at Silicon Valley CISO Investments) if trust can be rebuilt after a severe impact, she outlined three critical steps organisations use to successfully activate the Phoenix Effect and rebuild trust: 

1. “They communicate with immediate and honest acknowledgement of the event.”
2. “They provide clarity on remediation steps.”
3. “They demonstrate  tangible long-term commitments to security improvements.” 

What does rebuilding trust look like? 

An organisation that has rebuilt the trust that was lost or damaged as a result of a breach is able to achieve equal profitability as before the breach – or even exceed pre-incident numbers. Its customers express positive feelings towards the organisation, and recognise that it overcame the incident in a proactive, effective way. 

The idea of rebuilding trust can be incredibly daunting. Winback campaigns after a breach can become highly effective marketing campaigns in their own right, leveraging a period of uncertainty to take control of messaging, direct customer attention and emphasise the trust-building aspects of the organisation’s incident response strategy. 

A customer-centric response is key to effectively rebuilding trust 

Transparency is critical – and so is accountability. Customers need to understand what you’re doing to secure their information and move on from the incident safely, and they need to know you’ll reliably follow an accountability protocol should their information ever be at risk again. 

This includes: 

• Timely public disclosure of incidents: Quickly and clearly sharing information about any breach is essential to show customers that you acknowledge the incident and are taking responsibility for addressing it.
• Ongoing updates: In the period after a breach has occurred, clear and continuous communication about progress and escalations reassures customers and other stakeholders that your organisation has the situation in hand. 

And active engagement with the community enables trust to grow 

The most effective post-incident comms go beyond just informing stakeholders about what’s going on. Instead, they actively engage stakeholders (including customers, where possible and relevant) in the security process. 

For example, an organisation might offer interactive security briefings that include opportunities for question and answer sessions, or collaborative workshops to explore strategies for overcoming the incident as a community. 

Ultimately, open channels for sharing information and receiving feedback foster a sense of trust because they demonstrate that the organisation is willing to listen and respond to the genuine feelings and needs of its stakeholders. And as with any relationship, feeling listened-to drives trust and commitment. 

Trust is a foundation for organisational strength 

Taking proactive and ongoing steps to rebuild trust after a security incident is absolutely necessary to the future strength of your organisation. Organisations should engage their communities; engage with cybersecurity professionals; and use the breach as motivation to facilitate a culture of security within their enterprise and across their industry.

Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like us to cover? We're eager to hear it! Drop us a message and share your thoughts. Our next newsletter is scheduled for 18 December 2024.

Catch you next week,
Steve Durning
Exhibition Director

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