The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) has joined the United States' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the following international partners in releasing cyber security guidance on best practices for service providers when communicating under pressure:
- Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC)
- New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ)
- United Kingdom's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK)
- United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Service outages impacting information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems can be damaging and disruptive to customers, network defenders, critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as the public. This joint guidance explains why effective communications during outages is critical to minimize operational impacts, maintain credibility and situational awareness, and support response efforts. It also outlines the following measures that service providers should take to prepare for effective outage communications:
- develop a communications plan with defined incident thresholds and target audiences
- practice transparency and use plain-language messages
- provide a root cause analysis and technical information for end users
- align all messaging with legal and regulatory requirements
Consult the full joint guidance: Communicating Under Pressure: Best Practices for Service Providers