Realizing you have a hacked website on your hands can be one of the worst feelings in the world.
You may have tried to log in to your web hosting platform and were denied. Or perhaps someone defaced the homepage for your website or redirected your web address. Either way, you probably feel angry, afraid, and violated.
First, it can be helpful to acknowledge that hacked business websites are not uncommon. And the good news is that, most of the time, the damage can be undone.
But first, you have to know what steps to take.
This brief guide will cover exactly what you need to do if website hackers have attacked your site. To learn more, keep reading.
First, you should change all of your passwords. This includes the password for your website’s admin area and any other accounts connected to your website, like your email or hosting account.
Next, you should check to see if any sensitive information has been stolen. This could include customer information like names, addresses, and credit card numbers.
If hackers have stolen customer data, you should immediately inform your customers and offer them identity theft protection.
You should also look for any new or suspicious files on your website. Hackers often leave behind files that allow them to come back and retake control of your website. If you find any of these files, delete them.
You should also contact your hosting company and inform them that your website has been hacked. They may be able to help you clean up the hack and prevent it from happening again.
If you’re not sure how to clean up a hack, you can hire a professional to do it for you. This can be a good idea if the hack is particularly severe or if you’re not comfortable working with the technical details of your website.
Finally, you should keep your website and any software you use (like WordPress) up to date. This can help prevent hackers from being able to take control of your website again in the future.
With that, you now know what steps to take if you have a hacked website.
However, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best way to bounce back from having your website hacked is to keep it from happening in the first place. To do that, you need the right team for the job.
Fortunately, preventing hackers with proper website maintenance is simple. A managed IT service like Envision IT can do the work for you while you focus on your business. To find out what Envision IT can do for you, contact us right away.
