--- title: 4 Tips for Surviving a Data Breach description: In most cases, a data breach is a matter of “if,” not “when.” But it doesn’t have to leave you and your team feeling powerless. image: https://blog.linksquares.com/hubfs/4%20Tips%20for%20Surviving%20a%20Data%20Breach%20-%20Copy%20of%20Legal%20Best%20Practices_Thumbnail.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.linksquares.com/4-tips-for-surviving-a-data-breach#main-content) [LinkSquares](https://blog.linksquares.com/) Open Mobile Menu [LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/) Close Mobile Menu [Why LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/why-linksquares/) [Products](https://linksquares.com/products/) --- [The LinkSquares Cloud One platform for all your in-house legal needs](https://linksquares.com/products/linksquares-cloud/) --- Contract Lifecycle Management Create, review, manage and sign contracts Legal Project Management Centralize your work and keep projects moving Cross-product capabilities Get scalability, efficiency and connectivity LinkSquares Onboarding Experience A step by step guide to get started today --- [Solutions](https://linksquares.com/solutions/) [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) Resources Content [LinkSquares+ Content curated for in-house leaders](https://linksquares.com/plus/) [The Library](https://linksquares.com/library/) In the studio [Demo Library](https://linksquares.com/demo-library/) Community & Events [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) [Events & Webinars](https://linksquares.com/events/) Learning [Blog](https://blog.linksquares.com/) [In-House Insights](https://linksquares.com/inhouse-insights/) [Knowledge Base](https://help.linksquares.com/) [Events](https://linksquares.com/events/) [About Us](https://linksquares.com/about-us/) [Careers](https://linksquares.com/careers/) [Press](https://blog.linksquares.com/tag/linksquares-news-press) [Pricing](https://linksquares.com/pricing/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Contract Lifecycle Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Finalize Streamline your contract creation process](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/) [Sign Get your contracts executed faster](https://linksquares.com/products/sign/) [Analyze Your post-signature analytics & repository](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/) [CLM Suite One platform to rule them all](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Legal Project Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Prioritize Manage, track, and report on legal work in one place](https://linksquares.com/products/prioritize/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [LinkAI Predictive and generative AI](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/ai/) [Integrations Connect the tools you love](https://linksquares.com/integrations/) [Reporting Improve your teams efficiency with KPIs](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/dashboard/) [API Integrate with any third-party app](https://linksquares.com/integrations/linksquares-api/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Onboarding We're here for you from day one](https://linksquares.com/onboarding-services/) [Services Short on time? 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According to [IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021](https://www.ibm.com/security/data-breach), the volume of data privacy incidents doubled in 2021 compared to 2020. Reasons include the sharp increase in remote work and complicated [regulatory changes](https://blog.linksquares.com/how-legal-can-prepare-for-data-privacy-2023). Every state in the USA can develop its own policy on any given privacy regulation, resulting in hundreds of opportunities for unmitigated risk and liability.  GCs and in-house legal teams have a heavy burden to bear when establishing data breach policies within your organization, especially regarding [contract risk](https://blog.linksquares.com/expose-data-privacy-risks-in-contracts). In most cases, a data breach is a matter of “if,” not “when.” But it doesn’t have to leave you and your team feeling powerless. We’ve gathered four high-level tips to help you survive a data breach: ## #1: Prepare Preparation is arguably the most crucial step in this process. It requires thoughtful planning, analysis, and communication to be done successfully. Consider researching your state laws or doing a deep dive into your company’s cybersecurity insurance plan. In addition to ensuring all your data is encrypted, you must also understand your data and what your obligations are to customers if that data is exposed. Check to see if all of your customer contracts are searchable and that they live in one centralized repository. If a cybersecurity incident occurs, you can easily scan contracts for a reliable single source of truth. Once you’ve gathered this information, create a detailed incident response plan that carefully lays out the steps needed during a crisis. You should also consider performing [tabletop exercises](https://blog.linksquares.com/how-legal-can-prepare-for-data-privacy-2023)and identify other teams in your organization that would need to be involved. ## #2: Respond It finally happened - the dreaded data breach. You have your plan, and it’s time to test the waters. Communicating clearly and swiftly with the need-to-know players in your organization is paramount. Be prescriptive when giving teams tasks during a crisis, and only involve those who are part of your incident response plan. Don’t spread any kind of data breach information-confirmed or suspected to anyone not part of the plan before appropriate. ## #3: Recover Do a post-mortem on the effectiveness of your incident plan. Ask yourself the following questions with the members of your incident response team: - How quickly did we identify the incident? - Was it escalated to the legal team fast enough? - Could the legal team quickly determine any legal and contractual obligations? - What data have we lost? - What are the repercussions for us? - How did we handle communication with our customers? - How effectively did we communicate as a team? - Would our plan be effective if we were audited? - Could we prove that we took impactful action? - What could we do better next time overall? Understanding the overall time it took to identify, manage, and recover from the data breach will help you fine-tune your plan for future incidents.  To avoid conflict and litigation, manage the relationship with all affected partners, especially the ones most severely impacted. It may take months or even years to rebuild total trust, but it is the most critical step you can take as a legal authority. ## #4: Be Empathetic As important as it is to focus on strategy and tactics, it’s also important to be empathetic. Empathy for yourself, your teammates, and anyone impacted by a data breach can change how you approach cybersecurity planning. Don’t focus on blaming or shaming anyone. It’s not productive and detracts from any proactive planning and damage control efforts that *are* worth your time and energy. Cybersecurity contract management can be a beast, and taking charge of it’s more important than ever.  [IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021](https://www.ibm.com/security/data-breach) identified the importance of automation and security AI as crucial cost-saving items. AI provided the biggest cost mitigation for organizations that had it, saving up to 3.81 million dollars compared to organizations without it.  LinkSquares provides powerful, AI-driven tools that can help-not hinder-your organization. [Schedule a demo](https://go.linksquares.com/demo-request) to learn how LinkSquares can help you gain contract confidence and protect your valuable data. ![avatar](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-05-09%20at%2012.05.18%20PM.png?width=290&name=Screenshot%202023-05-09%20at%2012.05.18%20PM.png) #### [Christina Sullivan](https://blog.linksquares.com/author/christina-sullivan) Christina Sullivan is a Content Marketing Manager at LinkSquares. ## Subscribe to the LinkSquares Blog Stay up to date on best practices for GCs and legal teams, current events, legal tech, and more. ## Related Articles ### [Christina Sullivan Jul 05, 2022 6 min read Proactive Data Privacy: How Legal Can Prepare for 2023 and Beyond The Problem Picture this: the smell of fresh coffee wafts throughout your company’s headquarters. The conference room is aglow ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/how-legal-can-prepare-for-data-privacy-2023) ### [Christina Sullivan Jul 19, 2022 3 min read 3 Reasons to Get Rid of Scanned PDFs Your hilarious college roommate is your friend. Scanned PDFs? Not your friend! At least not in the world of contract management. Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/3-reasons-to-get-rid-of-scanned-pdfs) ### [Christina Sullivan Sep 23, 2022 6 min read Why Improper Contract Storage Is a Business Problem Even though contracts touch almost every aspect of the business, when most people hear “contract” they think of legal. From ... 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[Your Privacy Choices](https://go.linksquares.com/linksquares-do-not-sell-or-share-personal-data) - ![aicpa soc 2](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/soc2_66933e61%20copy.png?width=100&height=100&name=soc2_66933e61%20copy.png) - ![barr certification](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Frame%201921.png?width=129&height=57&name=Frame%201921.png) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "United States", "addressLocality" : "Boston", "addressRegion" : "MA", "postalCode" : "02109", "streetAddress" : "60 State Street" }, "knowsLanguage" : "en", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Navigation/logo_643dd1b1.svg" }, "name" : "LinkSquares", "url" : "https://blog.linksquares.com/4-tips-for-surviving-a-data-breach" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "abstract" : "In most cases, a data breach is a matter of “if,” not “when.” But it doesn’t have to leave you and your team feeling powerless.", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Christina Sullivan" }, "dateModified" : "2022-08-02T13:00:02Z", "datePublished" : "2022-08-02T13:00:00Z", "headline" : "4 Tips for Surviving a Data Breach", "image" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/4%20Tips%20for%20Surviving%20a%20Data%20Breach%20-%20Copy%20of%20Legal%20Best%20Practices_Thumbnail.png", "inLanguage" : "en", "keywords" : "[Contract Management, Regulatory & Compliance]", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "4 Tips for Surviving a Data Breach", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Navigation/logo_643dd1b1.svg" }, "name" : "LinkSquares" }, "text" : "There was a record-breaking number of cybersecurity attacks last year. According to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021, the volume of data privacy incidents doubled in 2021 compared to 2020. Reasons include the sharp increase in remote work and complicated regulatory changes. Every state in the USA can develop its own policy on any given privacy regulation, resulting in hundreds of opportunities for unmitigated risk and liability. GCs and in-house legal teams have a heavy burden to bear when establishing data breach policies within your organization, especially regarding contract risk. In most cases, a data breach is a matter of “if,” not “when.” But it doesn’t have to leave you and your team feeling powerless. We’ve gathered four high-level tips to help you survive a data breach: #1: Prepare Preparation is arguably the most crucial step in this process. It requires thoughtful planning, analysis, and communication to be done successfully. Consider researching your state laws or doing a deep dive into your company’s cybersecurity insurance plan. In addition to ensuring all your data is encrypted, you must also understand your data and what your obligations are to customers if that data is exposed. Check to see if all of your customer contracts are searchable and that they live in one centralized repository. If a cybersecurity incident occurs, you can easily scan contracts for a reliable single source of truth. Once you’ve gathered this information, create a detailed incident response plan that carefully lays out the steps needed during a crisis. You should also consider performing tabletop exercises and identify other teams in your organization that would need to be involved. #2: Respond It finally happened - the dreaded data breach. You have your plan, and it’s time to test the waters. Communicating clearly and swiftly with the need-to-know players in your organization is paramount. Be prescriptive when giving teams tasks during a crisis, and only involve those who are part of your incident response plan. Don’t spread any kind of data breach information-confirmed or suspected to anyone not part of the plan before appropriate. #3: Recover Do a post-mortem on the effectiveness of your incident plan. Ask yourself the following questions with the members of your incident response team: How quickly did we identify the incident? Was it escalated to the legal team fast enough? Could the legal team quickly determine any legal and contractual obligations? What data have we lost? What are the repercussions for us? How did we handle communication with our customers? How effectively did we communicate as a team? Would our plan be effective if we were audited? Could we prove that we took impactful action? What could we do better next time overall? Understanding the overall time it took to identify, manage, and recover from the data breach will help you fine-tune your plan for future incidents. To avoid conflict and litigation, manage the relationship with all affected partners, especially the ones most severely impacted. It may take months or even years to rebuild total trust, but it is the most critical step you can take as a legal authority. #4: Be Empathetic As important as it is to focus on strategy and tactics, it’s also important to be empathetic. Empathy for yourself, your teammates, and anyone impacted by a data breach can change how you approach cybersecurity planning. Don’t focus on blaming or shaming anyone. It’s not productive and detracts from any proactive planning and damage control efforts that are worth your time and energy. Cybersecurity contract management can be a beast, and taking charge of it’s more important than ever. IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021 identified the importance of automation and security AI as crucial cost-saving items. AI provided the biggest cost mitigation for organizations that had it, saving up to 3.81 million dollars compared to organizations without it. LinkSquares provides powerful, AI-driven tools that can help-not hinder-your organization. Schedule a demo to learn how LinkSquares can help you gain contract confidence and protect your valuable data.", "url" : "https://blog.linksquares.com/4-tips-for-surviving-a-data-breach", "wordCount" : "932" } ```