Before disseminating any updates to customers and stakeholders, what should the Communications Liaison gain?

The Communications Liaison plays a critical role in managing communication during an incident response. Gaining approval from the Incident Commander before disseminating updates ensures that the information shared is accurate, conforms to the established protocol, and aligns with the overall response strategy.

The Incident Commander oversees the incident response and has a comprehensive understanding of the current situation, the severity of the incident, and the necessary messaging. This level of oversight is crucial, as unauthorized information could lead to confusion, panic, or miscommunication, potentially exacerbating the situation. By ensuring that all communications are approved by the Incident Commander, the Communications Liaison maintains consistency in messaging and strengthens the organization's credibility with stakeholders and customers during a crisis.

Conversely, while feedback from stakeholders, information from the Incident Response team, and confirmation from the postmortem owner are all valuable in different contexts, they do not directly address the need for authoritative approval before public communication, which is essential for maintaining a coherent response effort.