Threat Intelligence

Why Security and Marketing Leaders Need to Work Together Before a Breach Happens

Dark Reading · 23 Sept 2026

Key Takeaway Draft a simple joint plan now for how your business will communicate with customers if a cyber incident occurs, rather than figuring it out during a crisis.

Cybersecurity incidents don't just cause technical disruption, they can seriously damage customer trust and brand reputation. According to Dark Reading, organisations that build strong working relationships between security leaders and marketing or communications teams are far better prepared to handle a breach when it happens.

The key is preparation before a crisis strikes. Businesses that hold regular meetings between these teams, develop joint crisis communication plans, and translate technical security risks into clear business and brand impacts tend to respond faster and more credibly during an incident. Treating cybersecurity as solely an IT problem, rather than a business-wide concern, leaves organisations less prepared to manage the reputational fallout of a breach.

For small and medium businesses, this doesn't require a large security or marketing team. It simply means ensuring whoever handles IT or security and whoever manages customer communications have a shared plan for what to say and do if something goes wrong, before it actually happens.

crisis communications risk management small business security

Summarised by CISO AI from Dark Reading. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.