America Is Under Cyber-Attack, and It’s More Than Russian Election-Meddling
An interesting, provocative piece from Deborah Lee James, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force. The United States is under attack. Having served as Secretary of the United States Air Force, I know this for a fact. Our sovereign border – and our critical infrastructure – has been breached in a number of serious […]
Are Your Employees Recording You, Too?
From Donald Scarinci, writing in The Observer: Omarosa Manigault Newman dominated the headlines when she released an audio recording that allegedly captures her firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. She made a separate recording of Lara Trump offering her another job, which Manigault Newman considered to be an offer of hush money, and she […]
What CEOs Should Know About Protecting Cyber Infrastructure
Edgard Capdevielle, writing in Chief Executive Magazine about cybersecurity, summed it up by stating, “To protect critical infrastructure and manage cyber risk associated with industrial operations, executives need to execute well across three dimensions: improve visibility, incorporate modern cyber defenses, and ensure preparedness in case an incident does occur.” The Department of Energy said, ““It […]
The Speed of Breaches and Other Bad News in Cybersecurity Incident Response
In this piece written for the D&O Diary, Paul Ferrillo, a partner in the New York office of the Greenberg Traurig law firm, examines the ways that an organization can respond well to a cyber incident. Years ago, when describing a “bad news” event, it was common to describe the situation to your colleague as […]
PR Warfare: When An Enemy Targets Your Firm In the Press
From Cheryl Connor, writing for Forbes: Does anybody remember Lori Cheek? Those who follow my columns may remember my story about the intrepid entrepreneur who was famously turned down in front of eight million viewers by all five investors on Shark Tank and used the experience to propel her mobile dating site, Cheekd, on her own. TheObserver.com “That […]
Once a Social Media Crisis Hits, the Reputation Management Clock is Ticking
From New York Times staff writer Michael Grynbaum: The toppling of Roseanne Barr — from her racist late-night tweet to the early-morning backlash and ABC’s axing of her highly rated show — took less than 12 hours. That is the equivalent of hyperspeed for businesses and brands that are accustomed to taking their time when […]
Are Women Leaders More Calm In A Crisis? 6 Tips On Keeping Cool
From Michelle Weldon, writing in Take the Lead: Gender may or not play a role in how a leader handles a crisis, but as a women leader, you can decide how you will behave. And it is likely you will have a crisis on your hands eventually. “A disaster is a moment of truth for […]
Are You Prepared to Communicate During a Disaster That Can Cause Death & Destruction Within Minutes?
[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] That’s the key question contained in this poster, from an organization called Civic Plus. It’s a good reminder to all organizations that communicating to stakeholders when an emergency strikes often needs to happen in seconds. That means communicators need to have systems and techniques in place in advance that can […]
How Lawyers Can Minimize Professional Mistakes During a Scandal Like That at Penn State
[By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications] “What were they thinking?” That’s what we all ask when a big scandal unfolds, such as Penn State, Enron, Watergate and most recently, the Michigan State sex abuse scandal. Those on the outside are left scratching their heads, wondering how those huge institutions got so deep and so far […]
How Facebook’s Response Ignited the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
From our good friend and colleague, James Haggerty: In a crisis, it’s not the event itself that counts. It’s the response. Unfortunately for Facebook’s shareholders, it appears Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and the company’s other leaders did not understand this basic rule of crisis management when handling the Cambridge Analytica scandal. For my 2017 book, Chief […]