Corporate IT Security Breach Apology Letter Template

Email Subject: Our Security Is Your Problem :-) 

To: Our Customers:

On behalf of <INSERT YOUR COMPANY NAME>, I sincerely regret any inconvenience caused by the data breach that occurred within our processing system during <INSERT TIME PERIOD>. 

<INSERT YOUR COMPANY NAME> understands the concern this breach has generated, and our goal is to transform this event into a positive outcome for the public, and our company.

To that end, we will not rest until we have the answers to how and why this breach occurred so we can prevent any future attacks at <INSERT YOUR COMPANY NAME> and elsewhere. We are coordinating with the Secret Service and the United States Department of Justice to resolve this issue. I have reached out to other leaders in the payments industry to encourage a new level of information sharing and cooperation that I believe will help thwart criminal hackers in the future.

Our organization and business model was founded on fair dealings, transparency and <INSERT YOUR BUSINESS’UNIQUE PHILOSOPHY>. That operating philosophy has been successful for the <INSERT HOW MANY YEARS> years we have been in business. Our faith in that philosophy has been sustained over the past few days.

In fact, since our disclosure of the breach on <INSERT DATE>, more than <INSERT NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO STILL(?) BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH THEIR INFORMATION> have demonstrated their continued trust in our services by joining as new customers. <INSERT YOUR COMPANY NAME> is grateful for that trust, and we will do everything possible to uphold our promise of enhanced data security.

In the past several days, we have taken the following forward-looking steps to improve security: 

        Created plans and taken actions to expedite the development of end-to-end encryption - which will protect data in motion as well as data at rest - as an enhanced standard of payments security. 

        Engaged industry leaders to better coordinate and intensify our fight against cyber criminals. 

        Contacted more than 150,000 merchant locations to help them understand this data breach and what we are doing to prevent future incursions. 

< LIST ANY OTHER STEPS YOUR COMPANY IS TAKING TO RESTORE IT’S TARNISHED REPUTATION AND RESTORE THE BROKEN FAITH OF CUSTOMERS AND INVESTORS>

This past week has been a challenging one for <INSERT YOUR COMPANY NAME>, cardholders and our customers. We appreciate and value all of you who have stood by us, and we look forward to using the knowledge we have gained from this experience to enhance our security and help others in the industry do so as well.

If you have further questions or concerns, please call our toll-free number at PHONE NUMBER or email us at EMAIL.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME
YOUR JOB TITLE
YOUR COMPANY