The Privacy Lawyer: Combat CyberwarfareThe Privacy Lawyer: Combat Cyberwarfare

Once you have the necessary information about this attack and any intelligence about its source and methods being deployed, call a meeting of the members of your cyberattack team, plan your response, and execute it.

Be careful before calling in the media to refute the claims. Your media resources may be far more powerful than your attackers, and your denials may only draw attention to the misinformation. This same tip applies to taking legal action. If you need to run to court to find out the identity of the attackers, or to order that content be removed from a Web site, try and do this under a protective order and, if possible, in sealed proceedings. Think carefully when, if at all, any regulatory agencies need to be informed and what they're told.

Then watch the search-engine reports. Is the traffic dying down? If not, are there new sources of attacks? Has the information moved to mainstream media sources? Each cybercommunication needs to be evaluated independently and your response tailored to meet that attack. If you have the right team and experienced professionals, trust their advice. And, if you believe ... clap to save Tinkerbell.

Parry Aftab is a cyberspace lawyer, specializing in online privacy and security law, and she's also executive director of WiredSafety. She hosts the Web site aftab.com and blogs regularly at theprivacylawyer.blogspot.com.

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To find out more about Parry Aftab, please visit her page on the Listening Post.