You’ve probably heard the saying: “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s what you do when you get back up that counts.” That sentiment couldn’t be more apt when it comes to a data breach.
The Stanford 2025 AI Index Report reported a 56.4% surge in AI-related security incidents in 2024, including data breaches, algorithmic failures and misinformation campaigns. It’s no longer a matter of if your organization will face a data breach; it’s when. And when it happens, how you respond will make all the difference.
The reality is that no system is breach-proof. That’s why effective data governance isn’t about eliminating risk entirely. It’s about strategically minimizing risk and being prepared for when the worst inevitably occurs. Those that emerge stronger from a breach are, without exception, the ones who planned ahead.
Here are five things smart firms do to move from data breach reactivity to readiness.
1. Establish a proactive plan of action. The best time to prepare for a data breach is long before it happens. A well-defined, actionable plan can limit the “blast radius” of an incident and significantly reduce its overall impact. Your plan should be tailored to your business model, the types of data you handle and your operating environment.
What matters most is that your team members know the plan and understand their role in executing it quickly and effectively. A RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed) or DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributor and Informed) decision-making framework can help avoid confusion about who is responsible and accountable for actions during a crisis.
Having an incident response plan also signals to customers, legal partners and regulators that you take data protection seriously. The ability to proactively demonstrate compliance and readiness builds trust and gives stakeholders confidence that you’re equipped to manage data responsibly, even in a crisis.
Bear in mind that just having a plan is not sufficient. It’s imperative to test the plan with tabletop exercises that simulate emergency scenarios to examine how various aspects of the plan perform under different circumstances. This collaborative process helps ensure you troubleshoot issues and identify areas for improvement before a crisis arises.
2. Stay ahead of evolving regulations and standards. Data protection laws and AI standards are evolving rapidly, and they often have stricter enforcement and steeper penalties for noncompliance. To stay ahead, monitor updates directly from regulators and attend conferences or webinars where regulators and legal experts speak. Subscribe to trusted legal or compliance briefings and conduct ongoing internal training to close knowledge gaps across teams.
Obtaining an industry standard certification like ISO 27001 also helps meet customer expectations around trust because they are regulation-agnostic and set minimum thresholds for compliance efforts.
3. Act fast.Per IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report, it takes firms an average of 181 days to identify a breach and 60 days to contain it. This is a critical vulnerability. The longer a data breach goes undetected or uncontained, the more damage it can cause in the form of reputational fallout, client distrust, financial loss and regulatory consequences.Breaches contained within the first 24 to 48 hours have a drastically reduced overall impact and cost. Early detection, categorization, and rapid response to critical vulnerabilities are paramount, so respond quickly to protect your data and your customers.
4. Maintain transparency before and after an incident. When it comes to data breaches, transparency isn’t just a “best practice,” it’s a nonnegotiable risk management strategy. Customers, regulators and legal partners want to know that your firm can be trusted to handle data with care, especially under pressure. They are more likely to stick with organizations that clearly communicate data use, protection and breach exposure. A security incident is never the time to go dark. Proactive, continuous communication throughout the investigation and remediation stages reinforces credibility and demonstrates accountability for data use.
5. Know your legal responsibilities. All U.S. states and territories have breach notification laws and notifications, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Other federal or state rules may apply depending on the type of data involved, so it’s important to know your organization’s legal requirements, and — if a breach occurs — notify law enforcement right away. For breaches involving personal health data, you or your customers may need to determine whether the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule or the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule apply. Both require timely notice to federal agencies and, in some cases, the media, depending on the nature and scope of the breach.
You can’t outrun risk, but you can outsmart it
When a data breach occurs, the true measure of success lies in how you respond and recover, both of which are determined by your level of preparedness. Take control by creating a clear and tested action plan, moving with speed and decisiveness, communicating openly and adhering to evolving regulatory and legal requirements. Managing the incident with honesty and transparency will help you weather the storm, rebuild trust and emerge even stronger.
Risk is inevitable, but it does not have to beat you down. The companies that rise after a data breach aren’t lucky; they’re ready.
