It was early morning on Saturday 20th September 2025, when Heathrow Airport became the latest reminder of just how fragile our connected systems are. A cyberattack on software supplied by Collins Aerospace forced check-in and boarding systems offline, leaving staff to scribble details on paper, passengers to queue for hours, and airlines scrambling to rebook travellers. Berlin and Brussels faced similar disruption, but the most striking thing about the Heathrow incident wasn’t the technical outage itself. It was the silence.
Passengers reported standing in line with no idea why everything had stopped. Airline staff tried to reassure people but often admitted they didn’t know what was happening themselves. Many travellers only discovered the cause of the chaos by checking news sites or seeing updates on social media. The story that should have been about a criminal cyberattack quickly shifted into one about organisational confusion. The technical problem may have been inevitable, but the communication breakdown was not.
This is the heart of the challenge organisations face when under attack. Technology may fail, but how you communicate determines whether disruption spirals into crisis. The Heathrow example shows that silence during a cyber incident is as damaging as the attack itself. It erodes confidence, creates panic, and magnifies reputational harm.
The golden hour of a cyberattack and the importance of instant alerts
Cybersecurity professionals often talk about the “golden hour” – the critical first moments after an incident is detected. In those minutes, every decision carries enormous weight. Respond too slowly and damage spreads. Respond inconsistently and trust collapses. Heathrow’s golden hour stretched into wasted hours. Manual processes eventually kept planes moving, but the reputational hit was already locked in.
Imagine if passengers had received immediate confirmation that there was a systems outage, reassurance that flights were being processed manually, and clear instructions about what to expect. They may still have faced long waits, but they would have understood the situation. That understanding would have reduced anger, limited panic, and helped frontline staff manage expectations.
This is where instant alerts and structured communication make the difference. They give employees clarity, customers confidence, and leadership a degree of control over the narrative. Without them, rumours take over, and once misinformation spreads it is nearly impossible to claw back.
Resilience is human as well as technical
Too often resilience planning focuses exclusively on technology. Firewalls, backups, failover servers – these are all essential. But they address only half the equation. The other half is human. If staff don’t know what’s happening, if customers feel ignored, if regulators are left in the dark, then the incident becomes far more damaging than it needs to be.
Resilience is not measured solely by how quickly systems come back online. It is measured by how quickly people are informed, how effectively they can adapt, and how well trust is maintained. Heathrow demonstrated what happens when the human side is neglected. The software outage was unavoidable. The silence was not.
How Heed closes the gap with instant alerts
This is where Heed.io comes in. Our platform was built precisely for moments like these – moments when every second counts and clarity is as vital as technology. When an incident is detected, Heed ensures the right people are notified immediately. Messages are routed according to roles so that IT teams, executives, communications staff and frontline employees each receive the information they need, when they need it.
Speed matters, but so does consistency. During Heathrow’s outage, different passengers reported receiving different information depending on which staff member they spoke to. Some were told flights would leave soon, others that cancellations were likely, others that nothing could be confirmed. Mixed messages create chaos. With Heed, pre-prepared communication templates mean staff share the same message, updated in real time as the situation evolves. That keeps everyone aligned and prevents contradictory rumours from spreading.
Communication must also extend beyond the organisation. In Heathrow’s case, many passengers refreshed news websites or searched social media because there was no official channel providing real-time updates. Heed enables organisations to publish branded, external status dashboards within minutes. Customers get accurate information straight from the source, not from speculation or guesswork.
And perhaps most importantly, Heed is not just about broadcasting. Two-way communication allows employees to acknowledge alerts, report what is happening on the ground, and flag new issues. Leaders see a live picture of response efforts rather than waiting for delayed reports. That visibility can shave hours off recovery time and ensure resources are deployed where they are most needed.
A different Heathrow
It’s worth imagining what this might have looked like if Heed had been part of the response. The software outage would still have happened. But within minutes, Heathrow staff across terminals could have received alerts explaining the problem and giving them a clear script for what to tell passengers. Airlines could have texted passengers to confirm delays, reassure them that flights were still operating, and point them towards a live dashboard for updates.
Instead of relying on overheard conversations or frantic tweets, travellers would have had a reliable, centralised source of truth. Media coverage would still have reported disruption, but the narrative would likely have been about a swift and coordinated response, rather than chaos. That shift, from appearing unprepared to appearing in control, can make or break reputations in the aftermath of a cyberattack.
Preparing for the inevitable
No organisation can guarantee immunity from cyber threats. Whether you are an airport, a hospital, a retailer, or a public sector body, disruption is inevitable at some point. The question is not “if” but “how you will respond.”
Preparation begins with clarity about incident types. Every organisation should know which kinds of events are most likely to occur and have clear communication playbooks for each. Those playbooks should define who speaks internally, who speaks externally, and how information flows across the organisation.
Simulations are another crucial step. Too often, drills focus only on technical teams. Running communication drills alongside technical ones is essential. Do frontline staff receive alerts in time? Do executives get accurate updates before the media does? Are customers hearing from you first, not from Twitter?
And finally, automation is key. Relying on manual email chains or phone trees is too slow for the pace of modern cyber incidents. Platforms like Heed give organisations the ability to automate alerts, maintain consistency, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Preparing for the inevitable
No organisation can guarantee immunity from cyber threats. Whether you are an airport, a hospital, a retailer, or a public sector body, disruption is inevitable at some point. The question is not “if” but “how you will respond.”
Preparation begins with clarity about incident types. Every organisation should know which kinds of events are most likely to occur and have clear communication playbooks for each. Those playbooks should define who speaks internally, who speaks externally, and how information flows across the organisation.
Simulations are another crucial step. Too often, drills focus only on technical teams. Running communication drills alongside technical ones is essential. Do frontline staff receive alerts in time? Do executives get accurate updates before the media does? Are customers hearing from you first, not from Twitter?
And finally, automation is key. Relying on manual email chains or phone trees is too slow for the pace of modern cyber incidents. Platforms like Heed give organisations the ability to automate alerts, maintain consistency, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Silence is costly
The Heathrow outage will be studied for months, not just for what it reveals about vulnerabilities in critical systems, but for what it shows about the cost of silence. The damage went far beyond cancelled flights. It dented trust in airlines, undermined confidence in airport resilience, and provided a cautionary tale for every organisation that thinks communication is secondary to cybersecurity.
The truth is simple. Systems can be rebuilt. Flights can be rebooked. But trust, once lost, takes years to restore. That is why communication is not an afterthought in crisis response. It is the core of resilience.
At Heed, we help organisations make sure silence never defines their response. Instant alerts, clear communication, real-time feedback and transparent updates mean that when the next inevitable incident comes, you can protect not only your systems but also your reputation.
Because in today’s digital world, silence isn’t golden. It’s costly.
FAQs
What is the biggest risk during a cyberattack? The technical failure or the communication failure?
Both matter, but poor communication often does the most lasting damage. Systems can be restored, but when staff, customers, or the public are left in the dark, trust is lost. That reputational harm is far harder to fix.
How can instant alerts improve cyberattack response times?
Instant alerts reduce the lag between detection and action. Instead of waiting for manual updates to trickle through, automated alerts reach the right people in seconds, helping teams isolate problems, pivot to backups, and reassure customers.
Why is consistency in communication so important?
During Heathrow’s outage, passengers received mixed messages from staff. In a crisis, inconsistency creates confusion. Pre-prepared communication templates, updated in real time, ensure everyone inside and outside the organisation hears the same clear message.
Can platforms like Heed help customers as well as staff?
Yes. Heed enables organisations to create external status dashboards, giving customers live, accurate updates. Instead of searching social media or guessing, they can check a single trusted source.
Do cyberattack simulations need to include communication practice?
Definitely. Many organisations run technical drills but neglect communication. Practising how alerts are sent, how staff receive them, and how customers are informed is essential to building true resilience.