What are the FTC Recommendations in their 2021 Data Breach Response Guide For Business?

What are the FTC Recommendations in their 2021 Data Breach Response Guide For Business?

Secure Your Operations. In the event of a data breach, acting swiftly to secure your systems is crucial to prevent further complications. Here’s a summary of what you should do:

• Secure Physical and Digital Areas: Lock down areas affected by the breach and change access codes as needed. Consult with forensics experts and law enforcement on when to resume normal operations safely.

• Activate Your Breach Response Team: Immediately mobilize a team comprising experts from forensics, legal, IT, operations, HR, communications, and management. Their role is to manage the breach response effectively.

• Engage Forensic Investigators: Consider hiring independent forensic investigators to identify the breach's source and scope. They'll gather evidence, assess affected systems, and recommend remedial actions.

• Consult Legal Counsel: Seek guidance from legal experts, especially those well-versed in privacy and data security laws. They can advise on compliance issues and potential legal implications of the breach.

• Halt Data Loss: Take compromised equipment offline promptly, but ensure it remains operational until forensic experts arrive. Monitor all entry and exit points closely, updating credentials to prevent further unauthorized access.

• Remove Exposed Data from the Web: If personal information was mistakenly posted on your website, remove it immediately. Contact search engines to prevent data caching. Search for copies on other websites and request their removal if found.

• Conduct Interviews and Document: Interview those who discovered the breach and anyone with relevant information. Ensure your customer service team knows how to handle related inquiries and document all investigative steps thoroughly.

• Preserve Evidence: Avoid tampering with any evidence during your investigation and remediation process to maintain integrity and compliance with legal requirements.

 

Fix Vulnerabilities. After experiencing a data breach, it's crucial to take immediate action to fix vulnerabilities and protect your business. Here’s what you need to do:

• Review Service Providers: Assess which service providers had access to personal information and consider adjusting their access privileges if necessary. Ensure they have implemented robust security measures to prevent future breaches. Verify their remediation efforts to confirm vulnerabilities are truly resolved.

• Evaluate Network Segmentation: Review your network segmentation strategy with forensic experts to determine its effectiveness in containing the breach. Make adjustments if needed to enhance security between servers and sites.

• Work with Forensics Experts: Collaborate with forensic experts to understand if encryption and other security measures were active during the breach. Analyze backup data and access logs to track who accessed the data and whether access was appropriate. Restrict unnecessary access and implement recommendations from forensic reports promptly.

• Develop a Communication Plan: Create a comprehensive communication plan to inform all affected parties—employees, customers, investors, and partners—about the breach. Ensure transparency without misleading or omitting crucial details that could help individuals protect themselves. Avoid sharing information that could further jeopardize consumer security.

• Prepare FAQs and Clear Information: Anticipate common questions from stakeholders and provide clear, easily accessible answers on your website. Transparent communication from the outset can alleviate concerns and minimize potential reputational damage.

 

Notify Appropriate Parties. If your business experiences a data breach, it's crucial to take immediate steps to notify the appropriate parties and ensure compliance with legal requirements. Here’s a summary of what you should do:

• Understand Legal Requirements: Check state, federal, and industry-specific regulations to determine your legal obligations regarding data breach notifications. Laws vary, so ensure you understand the specific requirements applicable to your business.

• Notify Law Enforcement: Contact your local police department or the appropriate law enforcement agency to report the breach. Prompt reporting can aid in investigations and mitigate potential risks like identity theft. For specialized incidents, such as mail theft or electronic health records breaches, contact agencies like the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, or U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

• Comply with Health Regulations (if applicable): If the breach involves electronic health records, comply with regulations like the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule or HIPAA Breach Notification Rule. These rules specify whom to notify and when, including potential media notifications.

• Notify Affected Businesses: If the breach involves account access information (e.g., credit card or bank account numbers) that you do not manage directly, notify the relevant financial institutions. Also, inform businesses for whom you manage personal data, ensuring they are aware of the breach.

• Contact Credit Bureaus: If Social Security numbers are compromised, advise individuals to contact major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—to request additional protection measures like fraud alerts or credit freezes.

• Notify Individuals: When a data breach occurs and personal information is compromised, timely notification to affected individuals is crucial. Notify affected individuals promptly about the breach. Consider factors such as state laws, the type of compromised information, and potential risks of misuse. Provide clear guidance on steps they can take to protect themselves, such as requesting fraud alerts or credit freezes from major credit bureaus. Here are key considerations and steps to follow:

  • Consideration Factors: When deciding whom and how to notify, take into account: State laws governing breach notifications; The nature and extent of the compromise; Types of information accessed; Likelihood and potential damage of misuse.

  • FTC Recommendations: When notifying individuals, follow these FTC guidelines: Coordinate timing with law enforcement to avoid hindering investigations; Designate a contact person within your organization with up-to-date breach details and response instructions; Utilize letters, websites, and toll-free numbers for communication. Consider a comprehensive public relations strategy if contact information is incomplete; Offer at least one year of free credit monitoring or identity theft protection, especially if financial or Social Security information was exposed.

  • State Notification Requirements: Adhere to state-specific breach notification laws, typically requiring: Clear description of the breach details, including how it occurred and what information was compromised; Actions taken to address the breach and protect affected individuals, such as credit monitoring services; Contact information for relevant organizational contacts.

  • Providing Guidance: Inform individuals about steps they should take based on the exposed information: For Social Security numbers, advise contacting credit bureaus to place fraud alerts or credit freezes; Direct them to IdentityTheft.gov for personalized recovery steps and reporting to law enforcement through the Consumer Sentinel Network.

  • Additional Information: Include recovery resources like IdentityTheft.gov and details on how your organization will provide updates, such as through your website, to prevent phishing scams and maintain transparency.

 

These materials were obtained directly from the Federal Government public website and are posted here for your review and reference only.  No Claim to Original U.S. Government Works.  This may not be the most recent version.  The U.S. Government may have more current information.  We make no guarantees or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of this information, or the information linked to.  Please check the linked sources directly.