| The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of apology (responsibility admittance, sympathetic expression, compensation, reassurance) and other features of crisis response such as use of excuses, function of apology, and organizational representation appearing in official statements when cyber-security breaches threaten an organizational reputation. Ultimately, 108 official statements issued by organizations in the United States and South Korea were analyzed through a quantitative content analysis. The results showed that (1) the most common type of data breach is identity theft, and almost all types of industry are exposed to the risk of data breach incidents; (2) internal security vulnerabilities including "malicious insider" and "accidental loss" are the second most frequent cause of cyber-security breaches; and (3) culture plays a significant role in the characteristics of apology (responsibility, sympathy, compensation, reassurance), use of excuse, function of apology, and organizational representation in official statements. |
