Exorcise the Jargon: A Halloween Cybersecurity PR Guide
With Halloween just days away, the ghouls are out. But nothing sends a shiver down a security journalist’s spine quite like a press release stuffed with buzzwords. After three decades of cybersecurity PR, we’ve watched the same spectres rise from the inbox year after year. Some are tired, some are meaningless, and a few are downright dangerous.
So, in the spirit of the season, welcome to our house of horrors: the words that make journalists scream (and reach for the delete key).
The Cybersecurity PR Horror List
- “Next-gen”: next to what? Every product has claimed it, so it tells a reporter nothing.
- “Military-grade”: usually describes standard encryption. Journalists know it, and it makes them doubt everything else you say.
- “Revolutionary” or “game-changing”: if it truly changes the game, the reporter will decide that, not your boilerplate.
- “Unhackable”: the quickest way to invite a researcher to prove you wrong in public.
- “Holistic”, “synergy” and “paradigm shift”: corporate fog that hides what the product actually does.
- “Leading provider”: leading by whose measure? Without evidence, it’s filler.
- “AI-powered” with no explanation: the new “cloud-based”. Say what the AI actually does.
Why Buzzwords Haunt Your Coverage
Security journalists are some of the most sceptical readers around. They receive hundreds of pitches a week, and lazy language quickly signals there’s no real story underneath. Good cybersecurity PR is about earning journalists’ trust, and hype erodes it fast. Worse, when every vendor uses the same words, nobody stands out.
Buzzwords also fail the “so what?” test. A reporter needs to know what’s new, who it affects and why their readers should care today. That’s exactly why technical translation matters in cybersecurity PR.
How to Exorcise the Jargon
The cure is simple, if not always easy:
- Swap adjectives for evidence: numbers, customer outcomes and research findings
- Explain what the product does in one plain sentence
- Read it aloud, and if you’d never say it to a friend, cut it
- Let your spokesperson’s expertise do the talking, backed by solid media training
Clear writing sits at the heart of effective cybersecurity PR content, and it’s what gets clients quoted rather than ignored.
Don’t Let Your Next Announcement Be a Horror Show
If your press releases are giving journalists nightmares, our cybersecurity PR team can help you find the real story and tell it plainly. Get in touch today – no tricks, just treats.