Companies around the world are relying on cloud-based services, remote Internet access, e-mail and a great deal of other Internet applications, in order to make their business run smoothly. The growing use of those services increases the possibility of a cyber-attack and that threat is becoming greater every day.
Every company must understand the volume of damage those attacks can cause, and they must do everything in their power to try and prevent them from ever occurring. There are a number of steps they can take to achieve that, such as backing up their data on a regular basis, patching their software, using the SSL certificate, having a strong password policy and, of course, having a good web hosting provider.
However, even the most secure websites sometimes fall prey to hackers who manage to bypass their security and find their way in. The best weapon that companies must have in such cases is a prompt response. Acting swiftly with a focused response is of the utmost importance when it comes to protection. Every business owner must understand the risks of a cyber-attack and the consequences it can have on both their business and their customers.
So, what to do when the worst happens? Let’s take a look at some of the critical steps that must be taken in order to respond to a cyber-attack in the best possible way.
Get Your Incidents Response Team Ready to Act
Your incidents response team should effectively assess the situation when a cyber-attack occurs. This team should consist of data protection experts, a tech team that will identify the breach, intellectual property experts who will help minimize the damage and recover every piece of stolen information, employee representatives who will deal with incidents that affect employees, as well as legal representatives who will provide advice on all the legal implications of a cyber-attack.
Your incidents response team must always be on standby, ready to quickly and effectively deal with any kind of situation regarding data breach.
Secure Your IT Systems
Securing your systems is crucial for the protection of your data and minimizing the damage done. This is where many businesses make a mistake of taking the whole system offline or just removing the malware. Malware is only a symptom of an attack, and you should isolate only the compromised segment of your network and then work on identifying the source of the breach.
Since hackers often use admin passwords, you need to change them the second you detect the breach. You should change your access control list, which is usually an automated process since that is the quickest way of effectively doing so.
If you immediately go offline, hackers will know that they have been spotted and they will go silent, preventing you from identifying them. Not to mention that you will lose a considerable amount of data. Therefore, the best thing to do is to leave the compromised machine online, but block it from Internet access. Place an isolated VLAN or implement a firewall to prevent the compromised machine from communicating outside your company. That way, you will keep it from doing damage to your network and you will ensure your business keeps going forward.
Set Your Backups in Motion
You must have a good crash plan for your website. You need to have your backups ready to go in case your systems become too compromised. You certainly have a lot of sensitive data, especially when it comes to your customers’ personal information, which you cannot allow to get stolen. Therefore, it is extremely important to backup your data on a regular basis, to ensure you don’t lose anything. That way, you can restore it easily in case a breach happens. Make sure you have a good web hosting provider that has reliable servers and offers you great backup options.
Notify the Authorities
Notifying the authorities about the cyber-attack on your organization is essential, since that will not only help your reputation, but also your customers. Your customers need to be aware of the possibility that their personal information has been accessed by hackers and you need to let them know that you have done everything in your power to protect that information.
When bringing the attack to the attention of the proper authorities, make sure that you provide them with all the evidence related to the attack, so that they can easily assess the situation and help you prevent any unwanted legal action. It’s also important to share the information about the attack with other organizations, as they may have been victims to similar attacks as well.
These people can offer you advice on dealing with data security breaches. This intelligence-sharing works both ways and communication with other companies is always good for business.
Due to the ever-increasing cyber security threats, it is paramount that you and your team stay alert if the worst case scenario happens. You may have the best website security, but that doesn’t stop hackers from finding their way into your systems and causing a lot of damage.
So, make sure you have a plan prepared to deal with a potential cyber-attack and protect both your business and your customers. Remember that a quick response is the best response, but being smart about it is key. Responding to a cyber-attack must be strategically planned in advance, so make sure you have the best teams at your disposal, to achieve that goal with ultimate success.
The author is highly qualified and writes blog posts weekly.
