As the grim news of cyberattacks continue to grow and become increasingly commonplace, an efficient workaround is needed should your IT systems fail and your ability to communicate is halted or compromised.
Although IT professionals and even the FBI are working diligently on stopping or at least reducing cyberattacks, the realization that your company is as vulnerable is your first step to taking action to prevent attacks.
First, know the advantages of a mass notification system (ENS) so that you can see its importance in a cyberattack.
A multichannel emergency mass notification system delivers alerts and critical information in real time to the people with whom you need to get in touch. The technology helps you gain visibility into the event currently happening — in this case, a cyberattack, but it could also apply to weather emergencies, maintenance issues and other urgent events. Your ENS can help you get organized, create instructions well in advance of the emergency, quickly analyze data and make informed decisions in the heat of the moment.
What could happen to your business in the event of a cyberattack
Cyberattacks are always bad news, but the immediate damage is losing your ability to communicate to vital people, like members of your staff. Usually, a cyberattack means the hijacking of your IT systems, which could include phones and email. As well, your IT department may decide to shut down your communication channels in order to slow down or thwart the cyberattack. Think of it as a plumbing problem in your house — the first thing to do is turn off the main water supply valve before you can figure out your next steps.
In the event of a cyberattack, your IT systems and business email may be down or compromised, but your ENS continues to work, untouched by hackers.
It’s not something you may think about often, but if your emails and texts go down or get hijacked, you’re left out in the cold and unable to communicate urgent information. That’s where your ENS could come to your rescue – it’s a workaround so that you can continue to communicate urgent messages, updates and instructions to your staff.
Immediate benefits of an ENS in the event of a cyberattack:
Keep your staff up to date and constantly connected. Be sure your ENS can customize your groups, from large to small (and even individuals). You can create these groups ahead of time, so there is no extra thinking to be done in the event of an emergency (see next bullet point).
Save time. Compose your emergency messages and select your group recipients ahead of time. Be sure your ENS has an easy-to-use dashboard to help you navigate your communication.
Solve issues. Your recipients should be able to send you text alerts or emails on an alternative system if they have questions, issues or problems.
Add security. While your current IT systems may be compromised by hackers, your ENS should be safely secured in a specialized cloud that hackers can’t access.
Long-term benefits of an ENS in the event of a cyberattack:
Manage and store contact information. If your ENS features a self-registration portal, you can easily collect and manage contact information that you will be able to use in the event of any emergency. That means no wild goose chases for information in the middle of a chaotic event.
Gain insight. Feedback, responses and input from your recipients help you get a better handle on what just happened, so that you may be able to reduce or prevent future threats.
Bottom line:
Using emergency notification software in the event of a cyberattack can keep your staff and other recipients informed; you can also use it as a safe communications alternative source should your email and texts be compromised. In short, ENS keeps you in touch, even if your traditional IT systems are suddenly offline.
