ecommerce pharmaceutical company
Consumers trust companies to safeguard their personal information, especially when they shop online. If hackers steal customers’ information, it can be detrimental to an organization. An international e-commerce pharmaceutical company faced this threat when unknown hackers stole information on its customers. During the ransom cybersecurity breach, the company hired Axia to manage its global crisis communication.
The business challenge
The hackers stole more than 780,000 customers’ records and published them on the dark web. These records included customers’ legal names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. The hackers did not post order numbers, credit card numbers, or passwords.
The solution
Axia recommended that the company’s leadership conduct a quick and ethical response. Axia developed an email for the company’s chief executive to send to all of its customers. The email detailed the hack, what the company knew, what the company was doing, and what customers should do. Axia also prepared statements for niche enthusiast consumer outlets and industry trade media that might cover the topic. Candor and truth are the best responses to bad news.
The results
Customers and industry influencers responded positively to the communications Axia prepared.
- Email open rates were high among the 780,000 recipients.
- Only 70 users requested to have their accounts closed, and 15 asked how much customer data the company retained.
- Customers posted about the email on only three web forums.
- No consumer or industry trade media reported the breach or the company’s response.
- The CEO shared, “We are all very pleased with the reactions.”
