If your company has just experienced a cyber breach, don't panic!
You are most definitely not alone. According to the latest cyber breach statistics, hackers stole a record $400 billion from businesses, with the majority of cybersecurity breaches being experienced by smaller companies.
Due to the ever-increasing frequency of cyber attacks on companies, our ability to respond has evolved in time. A breach in cybersecurity no longer needs to mean devastating monetary and reputational losses for your business.
As long as you act fast, you can limit the damage and shore up your security against future attacks. Here is exactly what you need to do if your company has just suffered a cybersecurity breach.
The absolute first thing you need to do after a data breach has occurred is to limit the damage and prevent the hacker from causing carnage.
Contain the damage immediately by disconnecting your internet access. Follow this up by disabling all remote access and checking that your firewall is still running.
Install any pending updates or patches that you have neglected and immediately change all of your passwords.
It might be tempting to delete everything in a panic but refrain from this. You will need as much evidence as possible about the cause and motive of the breach.
Now it is time to see how bad the breach actually was. Determine which devices and servers were affected and which people the breach has directly impacted.
Figure out everyone who might have had access to the affected infrastructure.
If you have a dedicated IT security team, make sure to ask for constant updates as they audit the IT system.
Check your security data logs to see if you can determine the source of the breach yourself.
Immediately contact all stakeholders that might have been affected by the breach. This includes employees, customers, and third parties.
Establish a hotline or email address that concerned customers can contact if they have any concerns.
If you have cyber liability insurance, contact your provider now!
Especially if you do not have a dedicated cybersecurity expert team, you will likely need to hire such experts who can properly assess the damage and stop it from happening again.
By getting in touch with an experienced managed IT services team, you can immediately arrange a professional audit and find out exactly what went wrong.
This is the most effective way to move past a cyber breach and reassure customers it won't happen again.
Finally, you will want to do everything you can to bolster your cybersecurity and make sure you don't become a target ever again.
At the most basic level, this means using the most advanced firewalls and antivirus/malware software available.
It means switching to SSL encryption and two-factor authentication. It means making a concerted effort to make your IT systems an unattractive target for future attacks.
By following these steps, you can limit the damage from a cyber breach.
To access professional IT experts who can help you right now, do not hesitate to get in touch with us today.