The recent theft of a laptop from University of California at Berkeley containing unencrypted data on thousands of alumni – including social security numbers – has caused an uproar in the blogosphere.
The university’s public information office apparently not only lacked a crisis communications plan for this kind of occurrence, but has also failed to initiate effective communications with alumni and in some cases has overtly denied any responsbility what so ever. The result is angered alumni expressing their fears, concerns and frustration on blogs, with the mainstream media beginning to use the information there as the sources for their stories about the crisis.
New Communications Blogzine understands that now the Cal-Berkeley administration is finally grasping the need to address this crisis with some proactive communication. It is rumored that the vice-chancellor is holding a special meeting today to devise a communications strategy, but is it too little, too late?
This story underlines the crucial need not only for crisis communications plans, but also for proactive participatory communications in the face of crisis. We will continue to analyze this situation and will provide a recap in our next issue.
Related blog entries:
- “Cal Berkeley Laptop Stolen, Sensitive Data,” ElliottBack.com
- “Thief steals UC-Berkeley laptop,” Krunker.com
- “California Notification of Identity Theft,” Panix.com
