NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Burson-Marsteller, a leading global strategic
communications and public relations firm, today announced a
strategic partnership with Ridge Global – founded by Tom Ridge, the first U.S. Secretary of Homeland
Security and 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania. The alliance,
which includes Gov. Ridge's partner Howard
A. Schmidt, former cybersecurity advisor to President
Barack Obama and President
George W. Bush, will focus on
enhancing board-level and senior management awareness of the
critical need for comprehensive cybersecurity preparation to
address any type of cyber risk, offering companies planning
strategies and tools to address any cyber incident response.
"Cyber attacks involve costs much greater than the investment
required to remediate the incident," said Governor Ridge, Chairman,
Ridge Global. "Cyber attacks have
cost companies their reputations and the trust they have built with
employees, customers and their communities. Too many executives
still see cybersecurity as strictly the domain of the IT department
and fail to recognize cybersecurity as a cross-functional risk that
requires close collaboration and alignment with corporate
communications to protect the organization's reputation. Howard and
I are pleased to join forces in this effort with
Burson-Marsteller to help
companies better protect themselves and ensure they are prepared to
recover quickly after an incident."
Added Michael Law, U.S. CEO,
Burson-Marsteller, "The
ever-evolving sophistication of hackers and cyber criminals, and
the frequency of attacks, show us that business leaders should
adopt a posture of when, not if, they will experience a cyber
attack. How a company's senior leadership responds and communicates
after a cyber attack will affect not only the company's ability to
resolve the issue fully and recover quickly, but also its long-term
reputation and bottom line."
Trusted by clients as the standard-setter in crisis management
for more than 60 years, Burson-Marsteller is also the industry leader in
helping companies successfully prepare for and navigate cyber
attacks and other cybersecurity challenges through its
Cybersecurity Specialty Group, a centralized resource for clients
preparing for or facing cyber-related issues and crises who need
smart communications strategies and the tools to execute them
successfully. Ridge Global brings significant corporate security
expertise as well as proven guidance in leading and effectively
managing the complexities of 21st Century risk. The
partners' combined experience includes working with the world's
largest companies in preparing for and responding to cyber
incidents.
The partnership provides clients services including:
Vulnerabilities and operational risk assessments; incident response
plan development; stakeholder mapping and relationship development;
spokesperson training; desktop and full-scale training exercises
and drills; and corporate governance-related counsel, including the
development and structure of cyber programs and cybersecurity
briefings to senior management teams and boards of directors. The
partnership also offers cyber attack response support for denial-of
service attacks, phishing schemes, data breaches, ransomware and
other types of hacks.
"Every organization, in any industry – from healthcare and
banking to energy, technology and retail – has something of value
that can make it a target," said Sarah
Tyre, Managing Director and Chair of Burson-Marsteller's Cybersecurity Specialty Group.
"It is critical that organizations approach cybersecurity as a key
component of their broader risk and reputation management programs.
Without strong leadership support and advance planning, companies
that experience cyber attacks in the future will be judged to have
missed the warning signs, and their customers may be far less
willing to forgive."
About Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller, established in 1953, is a leading
global public relations and communications firm. It provides
clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full
range of public relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis
management, advertising and digital strategies. The firm's seamless
worldwide network consists of 73 offices and 85 affiliate offices,
together operating in 110 countries across six continents.
Burson-Marsteller is a part of
Young & Rubicam Group, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), the
world's leading communications services network. For more
information, please visit www.burson-marsteller.com.
About Ridge Global
Ridge Global was founded by
Tom Ridge, the first U.S. Secretary
of Homeland Security and 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania, to help organizations decrease
security risks. He has assembled a team of globally recognized
experts led by Howard Schmidt,
Cybersecurity Advisor to President Barack
Obama and President George W.
Bush, who offer clients strategic counsel on identifying,
preparing for and mitigating cyber risk. Ridge Global offers the
latest technology, best-in-class insurance, and is continually
evaluating cyber security tool sets in order to make the latest
technology available to clients. To learn more, visit the new Ridge
Global online at www.RidgeGlobal.com.
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SOURCE Burson-Marsteller