Data breaches are on a steady rise, and businesses across all industries are affected. Despite this, an Ernst and Young survey has unearthed that just 24% of Australian companies have a data breach response plan. 

And of the businesses that do have a plan, less than half say it’s effective.

When a company suffers a data breach, its IT department faces tremendous pressure to rectify it quickly and accurately. However, there are numerous scenarios where companies have not only failed to prevent a data breach, but have also failed in mitigating its effects. 

The Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach Study has revealed that despite an increase in cyber threats, company leaders are not actively involved in the preparedness for data breaches and avoid responsibility for the effectiveness of their data breach preparedness plan.

This lack of involvement thwarts data breach preparedness. In the study, only 41% of companies are confident that their companies can effectively respond to breach of confidential information and intellectual property. It also indicates that only 27% of the respondents are able to minimise the financial and reputational consequences of a material data breach.

52% respondents had experienced a breach in the past two years, and 66% percent of respondents said their organisations suffered multiple breaches.

What is a Data Breach Response Plan?

Data breach response plans consist of a framework that lays down the roles and responsibilities for managing an appropriate response to a data breach. It describes steps to be taken in managing a breach. This includes;

• Actions to be taken if a breach is suspected, identified and reported
• When it should be managed by the response team
• Members of your data breach response team
• Actions to be undertaken by the response team

This plan should be in writing and should regularly be reviewed to incorporate any necessary changes. This can be planned to coincide with the introduction of new products and services or any changes in the information system or handling of personal information. You should test a data breach plan before a genuine incident by staging a hypothetical breach. 

Why You Need a Data Breach Response Plan

With the continued increase in cyber attacks, all companies should have a data breach response plan. A quick response substantially decreases the impact both to the company and to other stakeholders. The cost of a data breach is enormous and implementing a data breach response plan will help in mitigating these cost. This plan will also ensure that you have effective privacy procedures and good privacy governance. A data breach response plan helps to:

• Protect company, customer and client information which are critical assets
• Meet your obligations under the privacy act
• Instill public confidence in your ability to protect personal information by professionally responding to the breach
• Adequately dealing with media and stakeholder attention from the breach

Contents of a Data Breach Response Plan

• A clear definition of what constitutes a data breach (including examples of an incident that simulate possible breaches)
• A strategy to assess, manage and contain data breaches. This should include steps and actions your staff should take in case a breach occurs or is suspected
• The order of reporting when you suspect a data breach
• Circumstances under which the breach should be handled by a line manager and when it should be escalated to the response team
• How to record data breaches including those not handled by the response team
• A system to identify and address any weaknesses in data handling that contributed to the breach
• A post-breach review and evaluation of your entity's response to the breach and the effectiveness of your data breach response plan

What Actions Should Be Taken in the Event of a Breach?

• Contain the breach and carry out a preliminary assessment
• Evaluate the risks associated with the breach
• Notify the relevant parties
• Prevent future breaches

A data breach response plan improves the ability of your organisation to effectively manage a data breach. It also offers security to you and other stakeholders. This plan will help safeguard your reputation, maintain your customers and prevent you from incurring financial losses associated with poor information security. 

To effectively manage risks to your company information, download your ISO 27001 Risk Templates below.