Blog

7 steps to minimizing data breach fallout, part 2

May 28, 2014 by Jim Ghiglieri — Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, SHAZAM

In my previous post, I shared four of the seven steps financial institutions can take to prepare for and respond to a data breach affecting their cardholders. Here are the remaining three:

Core maintenance. Train staff in data breach response so that they understand exactly how maintenance performed on the institution's core might affect existing card records, and potentially, the mass reissuance process.

Cardholder communication. Staff should always be forthcoming and realistic with cardholders. Before they communicate a card reissue turnaround timeframe, staff should connect with the FI’s card vendor.

Cardholder contact information. Having up-to-date cardholder contact data is critical for a fast turnaround on reissues. Knowing how to reach your cardholders, as well as how to correctly enter contact information in new card accounts, will save staff time that otherwise might be spent correcting data when a breach occurs.

Analysts predict that large breaches will continue, and more consumers will be affected. Setting up a proactive plan and putting policies, procedures and training in place today will help your community bank or credit union react swiftly and in the best interests of customers when the inevitable happens again.