Multi-Channel Communications, & CyberSecurity
Mass Messaging and Data Security
As the digital world becomes more intertwined with the physical, the impact of what occurs online has become much more pronounced. Many people rely on the internet throughout their daily lives and have large quantities of their personal information stored online. Many store this valuable data by themselves, but many have it kept online through interactions with websites, companies, or other organizations. Sensitive data can include many things, such as banking information, personal data like social security numbers, or medical records. Consumers trust companies to store their personal data responsibly, as personal data that falls into the wrong hands can cause serious harm. A consumer’s data can be used by criminals for purposes like identity theft or the removal of funds from their bank accounts. Luckily, some measures can be taken to prevent this, but the consumer would need to know that their data was exposed for them to be enacted.
There are many ways that private consumer data can be exposed. It is not uncommon for vast amounts of personal data to be revealed when a company or organization’s databases are penetrated by hackers. Other times, an individual may be the victim of malware that obtains their data from their own devices for criminals. Still, studies, such as the one conducted by Michael Bloom in 2018, tend to consider large scale company security breaches to be the most severe threat to data security. Companies, especially large ones, often hold the personal information of thousands, if not millions of consumers. A security breach has the potential to expose the entirety of this store of information at once, as opposed to a malware program revealing the personal data one person at a time, even if it spreads wildly.
With this in mind, companies must be prepared to inform their customers when their data is exposed. Providing timely notification is a requirement in most cases. For example, every state in the United States has data security laws that require companies to inform their customers if their data has been exposed promptly. While laws vary, most states require notification to take place within 30 days and to take place through email, writing, or other channels that a company can reasonably expect to reach a customer through. Even when using other communications channels is not required by law, it is still in the best interest of a company to try to use various communications channels. Using a variety of contact methods increases the likelihood of successfully informing customers about their risk. It also has the advantage of helping to regain customer trust after the breach, as companies that use multiple communications channels will appear to take customer well being seriously.
Considering the advantages of multi-channel communication, it is in the best interest of organizations to adopt mass-messaging platforms that can handle multi-channel communications. The TexTalk platform offers a wide variety of communications channels due to its ability to send emails, fax, SMS, voice messages, and make social media posts. It is also a simple platform to use, requiring little training, that allows users to send messages to a large number of people at once. This capability makes it ideal for data security breach alerts, as it enables companies to alert their customers to potential threats quickly. The large amount of communications channels provided by TexTalk also make it more likely that the message will get across, compared to using a single mode of communication like an email. As lives become more dependent on the digital world, making sure that data is secure and managing what happens when it isn’t has become more critical than ever. If TexTalk is employed by companies to stay in contact with their customers, they will be able to protect better those that trust them to hold their data.
