Send us a text

When Crisis Hits: The Real Cost of Getting Reputation Wrong

This week's Defuse Podcast featured Heather Blundell (CEO, Grayling UK) and James Clothier (Head of Crisis) discussing how reputation management has become essential protection.

Key insights: Most crisis failures stem from human behaviour under pressure, not poor messaging. Female executives face different reputation attacks requiring specific strategies. Social media breaks stories before traditional media responds. Video responses are replacing written statements as authenticity matters more than polish.

Heather revealed that proactive reputation management creates a competitive advantage, not just damage limitation. The conversation covers timing challenges, the importance of an external perspective, and why lawyers often make statements worse by stripping out emotion. They discuss how social media has transformed crisis response - young people get news from Snapchat, stories break on Twitter first, and video content is becoming essential.

The practical advice focuses on being honest, letting the light in, and demonstrating genuine change rather than just promising to "learn lessons."

Heather Blundell’s Biography:

Heather is the award-winning UK CEO of Grayling, a global PR firm, responsible for 200 employees across nine offices.

She has spent more than 16 years as a trusted adviser to some of the world's largest companies and prominent CEOs, guiding them through periods of significant change, disruption, and complex reputation and crisis issues.

Heather is also a regular media commentator in the national media.

James Clothier

James is Head of Crisis at Grayling UK, responsible for leading the crisis and reputation practice, alongside the firm's corporate division.

Before joining Grayling, James spent two decades in senior editorial positions at The Sun and the Daily Mail.

https://grayling.com/

#ThreatIntelligence #CrisisManagement #ReputationRisk #ExecutiveProtection #CorporateSecurity #StrategicCommunications

Support the show

Subscribe to 'Defuse News', our weekly update of the week's events on our website.

Follow me on X /Twitter

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Send us a text

OSINT Part 2 - The Digital Lens Into Personal Security with Jon Blake

In the second part, Philip and Jon delve deeper into technical aspects of OSINT and digital security:
- VPNs (Virtual Private Networks): They discuss how VPNs create secure, encrypted connections through virtual "tunnels" and their benefits for security, particularly when using public Wi-Fi. They also address limitations, including potential impacts on speed and some websites detecting and blocking VPN access.
- The security risks of public Wi-Fi networks, with Jon recommending always using a VPN when connecting to hotel, airport, or other public networks.
- Using OSINT for due diligence, including understanding a person's "digital footprint" (information they know about and control) versus their "digital shadow" (information they may not be aware of, like data breaches).
- Techniques for conducting effective searches, including using Google Advanced Search rather than basic searches, and applying filters strategically.
- The challenges of images online, including metadata that can reveal sensitive information like location data, and the use of reverse image search technology.
- The emerging role of AI and automation in OSINT investigations, with Jon
cautioning that while AI tools can be helpful, they need human verification and should be used carefully.
- Deep fakes and their security implications, particularly for high-profile individuals and organizations, with Jon emphasizing the need for verification processes and code words as potential safeguards.

The podcast concludes with Jon highlighting his company's training programs and customizable "cyber investigator pathway" courses available through Cyber Ops Global.

Support the show

Subscribe to 'Defuse News', our weekly update of the week's events on our website.

Follow me on X /Twitter

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Send us a text

OSINT Part 1 - The Digital Lens Into Personal Security with Jon Blake

In the first part of this podcast, Philip Grindell interviews Jon Blake, a former Metropolitan Police Detective who has become an expert in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT).

They discuss:
- Jon's background as a career detective who moved into cyber investigations, worked in covert operations, and eventually became a national internet investigation coordinator before entering the private sector in 2015.

What OSINT is: Open-source intelligence refers to gathering publicly available information and processing it for reliability and assessment. Jon notes that in policing, they've moved away from the term "OSINT" to "triple I" (internet investigation and intelligence).

- The difference between the surface web (indexed by search engines), the deep web (content not indexed by search engines, such as commercial databases), and the dark web (accessible only through specific tools like Tor).

- The distinction between open source (publicly available information) and closed source (information from private systems).

- The importance of treating digital evidence properly, including creating audit trails, capturing evidence methodically, and preserving digital material to maintain its integrity.

- How investigators must approach OSINT with the mindset that any information gathered could potentially become evidence, so proper documentation and verification are essential.

The experts emphasise that OSINT is a powerful investigation tool but should be part of a comprehensive approach rather than relied upon exclusively.

Support the show

Subscribe to 'Defuse News', our weekly update of the week's events on our website.

Follow me on X /Twitter

Connect with me on LinkedIn