Cyber threats are no longer targeting just large, high-profile organizations. Increasingly, attackers are going after what they see as “low-hanging fruit”—organizations that assumed they weren’t a target.
AI is accelerating that trend, making attacks faster, easier, and more scalable.
When a cyber incident hits, it moves fast, cuts across functions, and creates immediate reputational risk. A strong response and communication plan brings structure to that chaos—clarifying who decides, who speaks, and how information flows in those critical early hours.
Start by aligning your technical incident response plan with your crisis communication plan. Too often, IT operates on one track while communications and leadership operate on another. Define clear triggers for escalation and specify when communications must engage.
Be explicit about team roles. Identify your incident commander, communications lead, legal counsel, and functional decision-makers. Pre-define approval pathways so you’re not building process in real time.
Anchor your communications in a few core principles: be fast, be factual, and be transparent about what you know—and what you don’t. Prepare templates in advance for employees, customers, regulators, and media.
Plan for disruption. Systems may be down. Email may be compromised. Build redundant communication channels—secure messaging apps, notification systems, even manual call trees.
And once the plan is in place, test it. Start with tabletop exercises, then increase complexity. Simulate outages. Add media pressure. Introduce conflicting information.
Make sure this isn’t just an IT exercise. Cyber incidents affect the entire organization—operations, brand, and customer trust.
Finally, close the loop. Capture gaps, refine the plan, and retrain your teams.
A cyber plan isn’t a document. It’s a capability—and it only works if it’s tested before the real thing hits.
