Risk
07/13/2015

A Customer Focused Response to Data Breach: the Key to Survival


security-breach-7-13-15.pngThe unthinkable has happened: Data security measures have failed and sensitive customer information was taken. The next steps your company takes to respond are crucial. A poorly executed response to a data breach event can further anger customers, increase regulatory scrutiny, generate a media storm and have a lasting impact on customer loyalty.

AllClear ID has been working with companies to effectively prepare for and respond to data breaches for over a decade. During that time, there has been a noticeable shift in consumer expectations after a breach. Today, consumers expect—if not demand—a well orchestrated response. And they expect it to begin soon after the breach is made public. Data breaches are constantly evolving: Already in 2015, financial institutions account for about 9 percent of all data breaches, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. That compares to about 3.7 percent in 2013. Whether that figure will hold up throughout the year remains to be seen.

The demands placed on businesses to get a breach response right are more intense than ever, as is the scrutiny when a response is perceived as mismanaged.

Because of the high pressure to get it right, a customer-centric approach to preparation is paramount. If you fail your customers, one in four may leave, according to a study from Javelin Research & Strategy. So financial institutions cannot rest upon past great customer service and relationships with clients in the event of a data breach.

When a breach is discovered, what to do? Companies that keep the focus on customers before, during and after a data breach fare far better than those that do not.

Minimize Brand Damage: With customers at the forefront of any response, it is likely that both the institution and your brand will survive long-term. Granted, that doesn’t mean an institution won’t encounter a few negative headlines from the outset. But if the response is bungled, the damage will be far greater. Unhappy customers may speak out on social media. Some may leave. And the breach could tarnish your image for years to come and ultimately can affect your bottom line.

Plan in Advance: To successfully manage a breach with a customer focus, companies must first have a plan in place. The plan should incorporate elements of crisis and or incident management such as likely breach scenarios, key decision makers, and key partners who will assist in the response. This will help diminish delays and costly mistakes during the response, and facilitate a return to normal business operations more quickly. Now that we have witnessed multiple destructive cyberattacks against U.S. companies, it’s clear that having an incident response plan in place is no longer optional. A recent blog post discussed the need for preparation in advance of a breach.

Questions to consider when preparing for a breach response operation:

  • When and how will customers be notified?
  • How will we answer customer questions?
  • Do we have the customer service capacity to manage the calls we receive from angered or fearful customers? Will we be able to train them to address customers’ concerns and alleviate their fear?
  • What identity protection will we offer?
  • How will we make things right if a customer is negatively harmed?

Quality Customer Support During a Breach: As breaches increase in scale and complexity—and 2014 was a watershed year for that as well—consumers have seen a lot of breaches, but still may react in anger or fear. Their first stop for information is the hotline and webpage you publish. Clear, consistent communication and messaging is key in restoring customer confidence. Scripts and Q&As must be available to trained, expert call center partners immediately. Responsible and knowledgeable front-line employees can do much to diffuse the situation and lessen customer anxiety.

And make it easy for your customers to have access to the most important protection – identity repair. The 2015 Javelin Strategy & Research Identity Fraud Study found the link between data breaches and identity fraud has increased. In 2014, 12.7 million consumers lost $16 billion to fraud—and two-thirds of them had received a data breach notification within the same year.

As McKinsey & Company says, “Much of the damage results from an inadequate response to a breach rather than the breach itself.”

Put yourself in the customers’ shoes: They have trusted you with their most valuable information – their identity. Whether you keep their trust depends, in part, on how they rate your performance in the face of a crisis.

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You have accessed a resource that is only available to our Bank Services members.

From how-to articles, director training videos, key interviews with industry leaders and more, Bank Services provides bank executives and directors with the tools to help grow their financial institutions.rnrnTo sign up for exclusive access to this online bank board resource, please contact Bank Services at 615-777-8461 or [email protected].

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Lisa Larson