Oh my goodness. I just had a conversation with a colleague after publishing a post on how to communicate in a data breach or hack crisis, and the conversation lead to a petrifying realization. If you work in the transportation and/or travel industry, this should scare the crap out of you too – otherwise, we’re all screwed.
During our conversation, we discussed the growing ease at which hackers can remotely gain access to new vehicles, from their headlights to their brakes. To make matters worse, a recent study released by Massachusetts Senator, Ed Markey, states that only two out of sixteen auto manufacturers interviewed are proactively working on ways to react and respond to this sort of life-threatening hack.
Wow.
If you want a better idea of what I’m talking about, watch the following short video by NBC New York:
Dear transportation industry, WAKE UP!!!
If you work for an organization that manufactures transport vehicles or if you work in the transportation / travel industry (whether you’re a car company, a plane manufacturer, an airline, a train builder, etc.) you absolutely need to be assessing, preventing and planning for the risk of a hack.
Think about it. If yours is the first car to be hacked resulting in deaths, you will go down in history as such. If yours is the first airline to be hacked by a terrorist resulting in unthinkable, devastating catastrophe, you will suffer consequences that you may not be able to overcome. Are you prepared for this and all that it implies?
If you aren’t, I don’t know what you’re doing but I do know that you absolutely need to be putting time and resources to managing this risk PRONTO. This guide is a good place to start, but it’s only a starting point. Be proactive. Identify the risk and position your organization as a credible leader in this scary internet-of-things-world. I can’t stress how important this is for your livelihood and the lives of your stakeholders. Now stop reading and start doing.
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
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