Two words typically come up to describe the initial discovery of a cyber data breach and/or incident: panic and confusion. These same words are also not coincidentally the endgame for most hackers and cyber criminals. Because while a company may be sounding the alarm over the discovery of smoke inside the tower walls, the fire has likely been raging with reams of valuable personal information and digital infrastructure having already been siphoned out in less time than it took to read this sentence. And the perpetrator of this chaos is nowhere to be found of course, exiting through the digital side portal long before any substantive discovery. Keep in mind too when it comes to digital breaches, seconds may as well be years.

So what is usually step one in the process of digital remediation? Calling IT immediately is a knee-jerk reaction if not a conditioned response. A solid choice and frankly a smart one. There are no better solution-makers at this stage to digitally mortar the point of entry. After all, the pressing goal is to keep additional prying eyes out and any leaking data in. But what about the abrupt aftermath? Is breathing a sigh of relief and just leaving it to IT enough?