Even the best and most seasoned of companies can exacerbate the already exhausting drag created by data mishaps. Read my recent Compliance Week column to learn about Vanguard’s handling of a cyber issue, where they violated more than a few of the golden rules of incident response and unfortunately missed an opportunity to evidence strong corporate ethics; fierce customer dedication; and steadfast corporate governance. Here is an excerpt:
“Data security issues can happen anytime and remain an unfortunate fact of life for every business, especially SEC registered entities. Consequently, what’s most important is often the response to a mishap rather than the mishap itself. So many companies fail to appreciate this subtle but critical notion. Indeed, if handled correctly, a customer data compromise like Vanguard experienced can actually evolve into a successful failure that not only strengthens cybersecurity infrastructure, but also reinforces a firm’s commitment to customers, partners and other fiduciaries. Ironically for Vanguard, their data problem created such an opportunity; their response team just missed it.”
