The Connection Between Cybersecurity and Reputation Management

In 2024, the connection between cybersecurity and reputation management has never been stronger.

In our increasingly digital age, the way a brand identifies (and manages) itself determines how the public views its reputation... and that reputation heavily influences an organization's long-term success.

Examples of good brand image include, but are not limited to:

• A history of successfully safeguarding against cyberattacks, thereby protecting client and customer data

• A strong social media and website presence

• A dedication to consistent cyber hygiene (via following cyber risk mitigation best practices and up-to-date cyber insurance)

Given the domination of social media, third-party review websites, blogs, and other digital platforms in the online space, organizations must be more diligent than ever before when it comes to understanding (and actioning) the connection between cybersecurity and brand management.

Let's dive in:

Why Cybersecurity and Brand Reputation Go Hand-in-Hand

With brand reputation being based wholly on trust, building (and maintaining) it in 2024 boils down to how effectively, transparently, and consistently handle your organization's cybersecurity efforts.

Why? Because when a client or customer invests in your offerings, they're not just making a purchase; they are subconsciously buying into and tying themselves to your brand. How your organization's brand is perceived will strongly influence how much clients or customers trust you to fulfill their investments long-term. One cyber breach can be the difference between keeping your brand reputation intact or having to try to earn back trust for years to come.

Here at Packetlabs, a common misconception around cybersecurity's connection to reputation management is that it's an investment that does not pay itself off; however, that could not be further from the truth. With the rapidly changing technological landscape and the surge in digital services resulting from the 2020 pandemic, the increase in cyberattacks worldwide has been nothing short of exponential.

As described in a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity, some of the top cyber-related threats leaders are concerned about are:

• Infrastructure erosion post-cyberattack

• Identity theft

• Ransomware

From the same survey, 81% of respondents stated that staying ahead of cyber criminals is becoming more and more challenging for their teams. These concerns extend to organizations of all sizes and across all industries: with the majority of workforces now operating remotely or hybrid, supply chain disruptions and the enacting of cybersecurity reputation management efforts have only become more challenging.

Ways in Which Cybercrime Negatively Impacts Your Organization

So how can cybercrime negatively impact brand reputation? Let's explore:

Loss of Business (Either Temporary or Long-Term)

The first and most apparent issue organizations face after falling victim to a cyberattack is the loss of business. Stealing user data, infringing online privacy, or causing downtime to bring about financial loss causes reputational damage, as users or customers lose faith in the organization.

Loss of business is a particularly significant threat to SMBs. Since 2019:

• 61% of small-to-medium-sized businesses have been the target of a cyberattack

• Small business employees experience a 350% higher likelihood of being targeted by social engineering attacks vs. employees working at medium-sized or large enterprises

• 87% of SMBs report that they store customer data that could be compromised by an attack

• 27% of SMBs that collect customer credit card information state that they have little to no cybersecurity protection

• 50% of small organizations said that it took over 24 hours to start to recover from a cyberattack

• Almost 40% of small businesses reported that they lost critical, unretrievable data as the result of a cyberattack

• 51% of small businesses said their website was down for 8 - 24 hours in the wake of an attack

• 95% of cybersecurity breaches are attributed to human error

• 64% of small business owners are not familiar with the regulatory standards pertaining to cyber insurance

• Small organizations (those with fewer than 500 employees) spend an average of nearly $3 million USD per cyber incident

Loss of Trust

According to the 2020 Ponemon report on third-party security, 63% of respondents stated that reputation is the most common reason for evaluating privacy and cybersecurity best practices.

Enterprises relying on other organizations for protection must adhere to specific security and privacy practices with proper auditing after every 2-3 months. A reputation-damaging cyberattack will make customers hesitate to use the business's services. It causes a massive impact on revenue and overall business operation.

Higher Cyber Insurance Premiums (or Difficulty Renewing)

If a company has had a data breach in the past, insurers may view them as a higher risk and deny coverage or charge higher premiums. Even if the issues that led to a breach were fixed, insurers might be hesitant to provide coverage due to the potential for future breaches. Additionally, if a company's breach was caused by a lack of security measures, such as inadequate firewalls or unpatched software, insurers may view the company as too high of a risk to cover. Companies should be sure to demonstrate that their cybersecurity practices have improved in order to mitigate the chance of future breaches and increase their chances of getting cyber insurance.

How to Use Cyber Hygiene Best Practices to Bolster Your Brand Reputation Management Efforts

By following cyber hygiene best practices, brand reputation efforts can be made more effective. It’s possible to protect your business reputation from risks. Let's look at what organizations can do before, during, and after a cyberattack in order to best manage their reputation.

Before a Cyberattack

• Identify and secure your company's sensitive data, such as intellectual property and your customers' personally identifiable information

• Educate your employees on basic data security measures, social engineering methods, and how to identify potential breaches

• Put together a team of incident responders. Make sure to provide them with the tools they'll need and train them on how to use these tools

• Create a set of actions that your business will take to quickly and effectively address a security incident

• Establish an alert and follow-through process to maintain a communication channel

• Involve key departments such as marketing and legal in coming up with what to say to customers

During a Cyberattack

• Keep all stakeholders updated on any new developments and steps your business has taken to remedy the severity of the situation

• If your company has a blog or page where you can post company news, draft an account of the events from beginning to end and what your plan is or will be after the breach. Be transparent

• Identify and document the following information. It will be useful when it’s time to notify clients and the public about the breach:

  • Compromised systems, assets, and networks.

  • Any data in affected machines that has been disclosed, taken, elected, or corrupted

  • How the breach happened

After a Cyberattack

• Notify your clients and other entities affected by the breach.

• Prepare to receive and answer questions from anyone interested in learning more about what happened.

• Rejuvenate stakeholders' confidence and trust by focusing on breach preparedness, containment, and mitigation strategies. This will be proof of your company's commitment to its clients.

• Review the information your company collects and stores to identify data you don't need. The fewer customer data you keep, the less data that’s at risk.

How to Mitigate Reputational Risk

1. Identify potential risks through the customer lens. Always consider your customer’s perspective when identifying the reputational impact of potential breaches. Why do customers trust your company? What would they consider an unforgivable breach of this trust? Before a crisis, your management teams should think through potential issues. This will ensure future risks are identified before they happen.

2. Prioritize reputational risk as a business strategy. It’s hard for IT leaders to determine the appropriate places to spend their limited budget. A reputational risk management strategy is important for your business. Implementing a strategic plan that anticipates reputational impacts rather than just being reactive to a damaging event will serve your business best.

3. Encourage departmental cooperation. One of the biggest problems in an organization is the inability to share important knowledge across various departments. Organizational silos are barriers to change and communication. They make it hard to collaborate when critical problems arise. Encouraging collaboration will improve interdepartmental communication, making it easier to identify and tackle threats.

4. Establish a risk governance structure. The executive team has an important role not only in supporting a strategy but in doing damage control. When formulating a crisis management strategy, your organization should collaboratively work to choose leaders across all business units. The most effective way to manage misinformation is to allocate individuals who are the only people authorized to serve as the company's voice in times of crisis.

5. Formalize and practice. After you formalize the essential aspects of your crisis plan - like how to mobilize a response, make decisions, and what information to communicate- it's time to practice. Rehearse a few critical reputational risks to see how they play out. Make sure all major players know their responsibilities in case of a reputation-damaging cybersecurity incident.

Conclusion

A resilient organization is one that can manage a cyberattack, mitigate its impacts, and recover brand reputation quickly. Some of the key elements to building resilience in your business include:

• Gap analysis - Ensure you critically review existing protocols and responses.

• Cyber communications plan - Create a plan that includes an escalation process, definition of roles, and pre-approved messages.

• Simulations - Conduct periodic crisis simulations focused on cyber scenarios.

• Leadership training - Ensure the board is kept up to date and senior executives have their own coaching sessions.

• Spokesperson training - Effectively train the person who’ll be the public face.

• Relationship development - If there is a cyber incident, identify influencers and stakeholders and plan to engage.

• Trend monitoring - Follow how the media cover cyber incidents in your industry.

• Internal education- Share information with employees who’ll help mitigate the risk.

In 2024, a cyberattack isn't a matter of "if"; it's a matter of "when". And knowledge is power.

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