Cyberthreats aren’t just coming from hackers seeking the personal information of your customers. According to Matthew Horvitz and Jennifer Furey of Goulston & Storrs, online attacks in which people post negative reviews on social media and review sites are on the rise. “If you haven’t implemented proactive monitoring for attacks and are not prepared to counter them, otherwise-controllable threats could balloon rapidly into full-scale crises,” they say.
Here are some of Horvitz and Furey’s tips for getting ahead of defamatory posting outbreaks:
- Identify the Source: Typically this type of attacker is an upset employee, dissatisfied customer or competitor, say the authors. So the first step is to figure out who is behind the attacks, as it makes it easier to identify and implement the most appropriate legal remedy.
- Protect Intellectual Property: Figure out whether any copyright, trademarks or trade secrets are being infringed. “When an attack does involve intellectual property, federal and state laws may provide expedited and efficient remedies,” say Horvitz and Furey.
- Remedy the Situation: Even if the content is removed, it can still linger online. Take steps to identify and address these sources and prevent future attacks by gaining control over certain domains, stepping up social media presence or implementing new marketing campaigns.
