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May 14, 2013 Transcript of #CommsChat on cyber security

Last week, we were joined by now-frequent #Commschat-er Chris Woods, head of digital at Hanover. We discussed the growing threat of cyber security and its potential impact on business. Some topics covered include how hacks are handled internally, what steps are taken to protect a company’s digital assets and the reputational impact of cyber security.

Highlighted tweets:

@chrismwoods Comms pros have high-level access to company/client digital profiles. PRs should protect reputations not cause risk
@chrismwoods Look at what happened when @AP was hacked. Short-term reputational damage to AP & even to Twitter as a platform
@AllthingsIC always – employees are as important as customers. Makes sense to ensure everyone knows how to protect reputation
@PrometricCyber Although that training could come in handy when communicating how an incident happened after the fact as well.
Read the full transcript, with many helpful pointers and links from Chris, below:

  1. 14h

    Good night all on . Thanks for the tweets. Slightly negative topic so cheers for staying involved!

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  2. 14h

    Thanks for hosting . Not the easiest of topics for , but useful links in there, thank you cc

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  3. 14h

    Any industry connected to the internet can be affected by cyber attack. Esp vulnerable = national infrastructure

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  4. 14h

    a big thanks to for being our guest. and to everyone for taking part

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  5. 14h

    Last Q for : What other industries are impacted by cyber security?

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  6. 14h

    Get well soon Andrew ‘s little person! Good example of where real life more important than Twitter!

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  7. 14h

    Although that training could come in handy when communicating how an incident happened after the fact as well.

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  8. 14h

    as always, the transcript will be up tomorrow.

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  9. 14h

    apologies for large silence there a sick child upstaris called me away id like to say a big thanks to

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  10. 14h

    A: Main thing government can do is to help educate people & businesses of the steps they need to take.

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  11. 14h

    Cyber security is a pressing governmental issue as well. What can the authorities do to limit crisis? for (hello?)

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  12. 14h

    Another recent example of a comms fail when it comes to cyber security

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  13. 14h

    A handy best practice guide re cyber security for : via

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  14. 14h

    And here’s another great example on cyber security. We can all learn from this one:

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  15. 14h

    True. Poppy Powers/HMV Tweeter:

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  16. 14h

    well that investment is certainly important, necessary and good for business I’m sure

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  17. 14h

    what does staff certification look like in reality?

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  18. 14h

    . it’s often the people closest to you rather than some scary milicious hacker in a basement!!

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  19. 14h

    Re: passwords, Google in Oz had ‘anyonesguess’ password:

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  20. 14h

    Best to have a plan of attack just in case. Also good to have staff certified to prevent such attacks.

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  21. 14h

    what about the financial investment large companies like Microsoft can make in protecting the data?

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  22. 15h

    Means that we rely on our customers & suppliers to protect against hacks, as much as firms rely on themselves

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  23. 15h

    I’ve captured recent hacks/takeovers via Storify inc Guardian, HMV and Burger King

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  24. 15h

    Good Q . Cloud services prob spread the risk. Servers in more places than one (if they can be isolated) then = good

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  25. 15h

    Take a look at tonight for discussion on cyber security and issues

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  26. 15h

    Hi Rachel, good to see you on i’ve missed the last few

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  27. 15h

    . And people in the UK don’t want a state filtered internet like China. Even if that means more cyber attack risk

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  28. 15h

    do you evaluate potential reputational impacts of poor cyber security

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  29. 15h

    My opionion is that cyber security shouldn’t be up to the state. It’s about personal and professional responsibility

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  30. 15h

    Hi

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  31. 15h

    . what are your thoughts on companies using cloud based solutions? Does it help with security?

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  32. 15h

    Tip for keeping employees aware of rules: use real world examples of hacks and solutions. (Via )

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  33. 15h

    A4) I’m not sure how the globalised supply chains is relevant/different stance needed -do you have examples of good/bad approach?

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  34. 15h

    RT : Each corp relationship can add complexity & thus make networks hardr to protect against cyber attack.

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  35. 15h

    Each corporate relationship can add complexity and thus make networks harder to protect against cyber attack.

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  36. 15h

    always – employees are as important as customers. Makes sense to ensure everyone knows how to protect reputation

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  37. 15h

    on subject of international. Is the Chinese approach the right one. Presumably with Green Dam installed, no one can hack?

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  38. 15h

    Also re tip for ensuring comms team know the rules. Keep showing them examples of cyber attacks, then how 2 avoid

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  39. 15h

    Great conversation about going on right now with . What would you say are the best security practices?

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  40. 15h

    MT : Q4) How has cyber security evolved as companies now have globalised supply chains and international stakeholders?

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  41. 15h

    . nice lead into your specialism there. Internal Comms! Not just rules. Too many rules never read.

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  42. 15h

    Topic 4) How has cyber security evolved as companies now have globalised supply chains and international stakeholders?

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  43. 15h

    lets move to the next topic and all those with global audiences.

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  44. 15h

    Curious about the hackers comment – what’s your best advice/tip when it comes to ensuring employees know the rules?

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  45. 15h

    apologies

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  46. 15h

    good evening, thanks for joinging in

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  47. 15h

    RT : are there any high profile examples of victims? lets not forget hashtags

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  48. 15h

    Malicious hackers, yes. Kids in bedrooms trying to find value from public content / open data, no.

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  49. 15h

    Evening all, sorry to be so late! Note to followers – am now in for next 30 mins. Join in the conversation using >

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  50. 15h

    RT : Best practice re cyber security inc. (4) move to two-step authentication e.g.

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  51. 15h

    Best practice re cyber security inc. (5) making sure firewalls and anti-virus software is installed and up-to-date

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  52. 15h

    Best practice re cyber security inc. (4) moving towards two-step authentication e.g.

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  53. 15h

    so what punishment would you propose?

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  54. 15h

    Best practice re cyber security inc. (3) ensuring mobile devices have keypad locks

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  55. 15h

    Best practice re cyber security inc. (2) knowing how to handle a Twitter-based hack e.g.

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  56. 15h

    . A hacker is not necessarily a malicious hacker. Eg hackers who use open data to shed light on an important story.

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  57. 15h

    We do seem to be way too lenient on hackers, considering the reputational damage potential

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  58. 15h

    to paraphrase Monty Python, hangings too good for them.

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  59. 15h

    I wondered when someone was going to say that. Hopefully no one here will be hacked! More best practice …

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  60. 15h

    then come up with some good examples or comments. we’d love to hear

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  61. 15h

    that would certainly help a lot, yes

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  62. 15h

    RT : This is so dull. I wish someone would hack it –> 🙂

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  63. 15h

    If hackers can be traced & prosecuted by law enf. Tho multinational agreements eg could make easier

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  64. 15h

    I recently wrote on the topic of cyber security & reputation, specifically for comms pros here:

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  65. 15h

    This is so dull. I wish someone would hack it

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  66. 15h

    Look at what happened when was hacked. Short-term reputational damage to AP & even to Twitter as a platform.

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  67. 15h

    There’s an opportunity to learn from hackers – like the guy given a job at Facebook

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  68. 15h

    Best practice re cyber security inc. (1) change your computer passwords monthly

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  69. 15h

    Good question, . I’m about to post some best practice. See … give me 1min …

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  70. 15h

    RT : . Yes, , the BBC etc already been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army.

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  71. 15h

    . Yes, , the BBC etc already been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army.

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  72. 15h

    RT : topic 3 What does best practice look like? Can hackers be punished? –> does anyone think they shouldnt be punishd

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  73. 15h

    , here are some cyber security experts to follow: & Richard T:

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  74. 15h

    Is it as simple as refreshing passwords every couple of weeks?

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  75. 15h

    topic 3 What does best practice in cyber security look like? Can hackers be punished?

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  76. 15h

    lets move to topic 3 (possibly come back to topic 2)

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  77. 15h

    Hi & all readers. Sarah here, online PR & social media manager. What would you suggest is best practise?

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  78. 15h

    should we all be afraid od the Syrian Electronic Army

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  79. 15h

    Here’s the stream direct on Twitter. Hopefully that works for you:

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  80. 15h

    is v hard to disprove. Makes it easy get out.

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  81. 15h

    no 🙁 Take part through instead Padraic

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  82. 15h

    thanks for sharing example. Yes, most of the time companies seek help after a hack, not prepare for one.

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  83. 15h

    My IP address has been identified as spam on so won’t be able to follow again tonight 🙁

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  84. 15h

    RT : heres a good example of a politicians Twitter account being compromised. (Close to home)

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  85. 15h

    . currently it’s not NGOs who are the threat. Most of the time they play by the rules. It’s the Syrian Electronic Army.

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  86. 15h

    i used to work for security comms comp and orgs came to us after a security incident-reactive rather than proactive

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  87. 15h

    such as oil and gas, fur industry, financial services, and so on

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  88. 15h

    . here’s a good example of a politician’s Twitter account being compromised. (Close to home)

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  89. 15h

    is it mainly going to happen in sectors where there are active NGOs who want to hijack the brand

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  90. 15h

    Hi Helen

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  91. 15h

    Has anyone out there faced a cyber attack while in a PR or social media role for a company or client? (Big of you to admit it!)

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  92. 15h

    Hi Padraic, welcome back to CommsChat

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  93. 15h

    Hi all, Helen here-i work in the comms industry-currently travelling but will contribute where signal allows!

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  94. 15h

    does this really happen that frequently?

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  95. 15h

    everyday a politician, businessman or celebrity claims twitter/facebook/etc was hacked into and racist tweet wasnt theirs

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  96. 15h

    . here’s an example of where a comms professional slipped up on cyber security

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  97. 15h

    Evening all, Padraic here from Vodafone Ireland. Looking fwd to the session this evening

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  98. 15h

    Hi Sarah. Thanks for joining

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  99. 15h

    and are they causing risk? have we got any good examples?

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  100. 15h

    evening and our guest for the evening,

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  101. 15h

    Comms pros have high-level access to company/client digital profiles. PRs should protect reputations not cause risk

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  102. 15h

    I’m Chris, head of digital . Thanks for having me on this evening.

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  103. 15h

    Hi you have to get the hashtag totally right – its . Welcome.

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  104. 15h

    Going on right now: on the topic of online security

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  105. 15h

    Going on right now: on the topic of online security

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  106. 15h

    Just come across , an interesting concept. Will be following the hashtag for the next hour . Debating cyber security

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  107. 15h

    lets start with topic one: Why is cyber security an important issue for communications professionals?

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  108. 15h

    But please remember, its always polite to introduce yourself first. & with that, Im Andrew, publisher & editor of

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  109. 15h

    Please join in with insightful questions, acerbic wit, or just make the occassional LoLs and IMHOs.

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  110. 15h

    Here to guide us on this issue is Chris Woods, digital director from Hanover.

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  111. 15h

    Lax security on social media and in digital communications can impact an organisation’s reputation.

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  112. 15h

    Cyber security has become a serious issue for everyone from a Facebook account holder to a small business to the armed forces.

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  113. 15h

    Welcome everyone, it’s 8pm, BST. Time for CommsChat.

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  114. 15h

    Go make a cup of coffee, pour a glass of wine, or mix up a chili martini, for CommsChat starts in three minutes.

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