During an AI security incident, technical remediation is only one front in the battle. The second, equally critical front is communication. A poorly managed information flow can amplify damage, erode user trust, attract regulatory scrutiny, and create internal chaos. A robust communication plan ensures you control the narrative, manage expectations, and maintain stakeholder confidence when it matters most.
This plan is not a script to be followed verbatim. It’s a strategic framework for disseminating the right information to the right people at the right time. It’s about turning communication from a reactive necessity into a proactive tool for incident management.
Guiding Principles of Incident Communication
Every message you send, whether internal or external, should be filtered through these four principles:
- Clarity: Avoid technical jargon, speculation, and ambiguous language. State what you know, what you don’t know, and what you are doing about it in simple, direct terms.
- Consistency: All stakeholders should receive a consistent core message, tailored to their specific context. A dedicated Communications Lead is essential to prevent conflicting information from different sources.
- Timeliness: Information vacuums are quickly filled with rumors and misinformation. Provide updates at a regular, predictable cadence, even if the update is “no new information.” The initial holding statement should be released as quickly as possible.
- Transparency (and Discretion): Be as open as possible without compromising the investigation, revealing sensitive data, or creating legal liability. Acknowledge the incident, express empathy for those affected, and commit to resolution. Your legal and PR teams are key partners in striking this balance.
Stakeholder Communication Matrix
The first step in operationalizing your plan is identifying your audience. Different groups have vastly different information needs. Use a matrix like the one below to map out your communication strategy before an incident occurs.
| Stakeholder Group | Information Needs | Primary Channel | Frequency | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incident Response Team | Real-time technical findings, impact analysis, action items, decisions from leadership. | Dedicated chat channel (e.g., Slack, Teams), frequent sync calls. | Continuous / As needed | Incident Commander (IC) |
| Executive Leadership | High-level summary, business impact, potential legal/PR exposure, required decisions. | Secure briefing calls, executive summary emails. | Every 1-4 hours (during crisis) | Communications Lead |
| Legal & Compliance | Facts of the incident, data involved, potential regulatory/contractual breach details. | Privileged channel, direct calls. | As needed, immediately upon discovery of sensitive issues. | IC / Legal Liaison |
| Customer Support | Approved talking points, FAQs, understanding of user-facing impact, timeline for resolution. | Internal knowledge base, dedicated support briefings. | Pre-external comms, then as updates are available. | Communications Lead |
| All Employees | General awareness of the situation, impact on their work, reassurance about company response. | Company-wide email, intranet post. | Initially, then upon major milestones (e.g., resolution). | Internal Comms / PR |
| Affected Customers/Users | What happened (high-level), what data was/was not affected, what they need to do, where to get help. | Email, in-app notifications, status page. | Initial statement, significant updates, and resolution notice. | PR / Marketing |
| Regulators / Law Enforcement | Formal notification as required by law, detailed facts relevant to their jurisdiction. | Formal written communication, official liaisons. | As dictated by legal requirements. | Legal Counsel |
Information Flow and Roles
A chaotic communication structure leads to failure. Information must flow through a designated channel, managed by a single point of contact. The Communications Lead is the hub of this process, translating technical details from the incident response team into appropriate messages for each stakeholder group.
Core Communication Templates
Having pre-approved templates dramatically reduces response time and decreases the chance of error under pressure. These should be living documents, reviewed and updated regularly.
Template: Internal Status Update
Use this for regular updates to leadership and internal teams. Focus on clarity and facts.
## AI System Incident Update ##
ID: [Incident-ID-YYYYMMDD-NN]
Timestamp: [YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC]
Severity: [CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW]
Status: [INVESTIGATING/IDENTIFIED/MITIGATING/RESOLVED]
Summary:
[One-sentence summary of the current situation. E.g., "We are investigating a model evasion attack against the content moderation API."]
Impact:
- Business: [Describe impact on business operations. E.g., "High-risk content filtering is degraded, manual review queue is overloaded."]
- Customer: [Describe user-facing impact. E.g., "Some users may be exposed to ToS-violating content. No PII is exposed."]
- Systems: [List affected models, services, or infrastructure.]
Actions Taken:
- [List of key actions since last update. E.g., "Engaged on-call ML security team."]
- [E.g., "Rolled back model to previous stable version."]
- [E.g., "Gathering logs and attack samples for analysis."]
Next Steps:
- [List of immediate next actions. E.g., "Complete root cause analysis."]
- [E.g., "Develop and test a patch for the identified vulnerability."]
- [E.g., "Next update scheduled for HH:MM UTC."]
Point of Contact: [Incident Commander Name]
Template: External Holding Statement
This is your first public-facing message. The goal is to acknowledge the issue and show you are in control, without providing unconfirmed details.
Subject: An Update on [Product/Service] Availability
We are currently investigating an issue affecting [Product/Service Name].
Our teams are working to identify the cause and restore full functionality
as quickly as possible.
We understand the importance of [Product/Service] to our users,
and we sincerely apologize for any disruption this may cause.
The security of our systems and our customers' data is our top priority.
At this time, we have no evidence that any customer data has been compromised.
We will provide another update within [Timeframe, e.g., 60 minutes]
or as soon as we have more information to share.
You can follow our status page for real-time updates: [Link to Status Page]
Thank you for your patience.
The [Your Company] Team