"If you decide to resort to 'no comment' it will exacerbate the negative coverage of your story," said Langford.
"If you don't communicate, others will," he said, warning that disgruntled employees, customers with an axe to grind or others within the industry will be all too willing to put the boot in.
Instead companies should demonstrate concern, be clear and consistent in their messaging, demonstrate control of the situation and maintain an air of confidence at all times - the breach has happened, that fact cannot be changed but from a customer perspective it is better a crisis in the hands of the confident than a crisis in the hands of the panicked and bewildered.
If the press are digging around or calling for comment don't stall them with waffle. Even if companies are not ready to issue a statement when the phone first rings - because that may even be the first they hear of the problem - they should still send the journalist away with an answer of sorts. Tell them when they can expect comment and guarantee them that their deadline will be met. It may be that openness and that willingness to cooperate that stops a few journalists digging further.
Langford warns such crises will always hit when companies are least expecting it and least well-equipped to deal. But sod's law is perhaps the only given in life - "expect the unexpected," he said.
And brief your PR team properly. It's what you pay them for.
Ciaran Nelson, an account director at Lewis PR, told silicon.com: "There is nothing worse when it comes to handling a crisis than keeping your agency in the dark, because for us it's like going into a boxing match blindfold."
"Admitting there is a problem is two-thirds of the solution," he said. "Alert all parties with a vested interest and all parties who can help you. Be completely open with your in-house team and your PR agency."
In medical terms this is the triage stage. If you want to find the best cure you need to describe all the symptoms in detail.
"We need to know all the facts. For example, if similar incidents have happened in the past then we need to hear it first from the client and not from a journalist," said Nelson.
Depending on the scale of the crisis, companies may also want to similarly brief their legal counsel.
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