Cleveland-based Fortress Security Risk Management is on the front lines of the cybersecurity wars with the goal, as Fortress puts it, of “protecting companies from the financial, operational, and emotional ravages of cybercrime.” As Forbes reported earlier this year, businesses suffered 50% more cyberattack attempts per week in 2021 and they are accelerating in 2022. And not […]
From Amanda J. Crawford, writing for NiemanLab… Conspiracy theories are powerful forces in the U.S. They have damaged public health amid a global pandemic, shaken faith in the democratic process and helped spark a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. These conspiracy theories are part of a dangerous misinformation crisis that has been building […]
By Richard Tofel, writing in NiemanLab… Sometime early next month, I will formally retire from the practice of law after 26 years at the bar, including more than 21 years as a full- or part-time newsroom attorney.1 As I do this, I want to take stock of a few of the more important things I think […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications If you’ve ever attended one of our seminars on crisis communications, we often talk about the power of apology. Real apologies; apologies that are authentic and true; apologies without qualification or the use of “weasel words” (e.g. “mistakes were made”). Perhaps no industry does apology better AND worse than the […]
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications In 1989, the first episode of “The Simpsons” aired. The Berlin Wall came down. And during the World Health Organization’s AIDS conference, one of the first documented ransomware attacks occurred – distributed via floppy disk. A mailing list of 20,000 doctors and AIDS researchers received a floppy disk that was supposed […]
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on free speech for students in the social media era at least established this: You can give your school the finger. Beyond that, the main takeaway seems to be that social media remains a place potentially fraught with peril – for students, schools and everyone […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications The title says “schools,” but everything below is applicable to all businesses, organizations and professional service firms. Congratulations, School Leaders. You survived 2020-21 – a school year unlike any other, featuring the continuation of a public health pandemic, the most hyper-charged political atmosphere in memory and social justice issues that […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications The funny thing about trying to be humorous on social media is that it’s too often not funny – and can be quite damaging. Exhibit 1: On March 8, Burger King United Kingdom posted this to Twitter: “Women belong in the kitchen.” On International Women’s Day. The motivation actually was […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Deepfake videos have been making news and shaking up people who worry about truth and fact for several years now. The recent release of Tom Cruise deepfakes on Tik Tok shows the technology has reached a new, disquieting level of realism. Chris Ume, the visual effects artist behind the Cruise […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications A few months into a school year unlike any other, administrators and teachers have been challenged to figure out: how to reopen safely; whether to have in-person classes, virtual classes or a hybrid; how to get students to and from school; whether and how to have sports and other extracurriculars […]