In the event you’ve been hacked, would you know what to do? When it comes to cyber security, it’s important to be proactive, not reactive, because according to research, “20 percent of businesses experience a failure (fire, flood, power outage, natural disaster, etc.) in any given year, and 80 percent of those businesses will go under in just over a year.” The best time to act is before you’re hacked, the second best time is immediately after, to protect yourself and prevent anything further happening to your data.
Here are the 6 things you should do after you’ve been hacked:
1. Form A Disaster Recovery Plan — A data compromise can happen to anyone, so first, you can take solace in knowing you’re not alone. Even businesses with entire teams dedicated to data security, like Equifax, have succumbed to professional hackers. The key to moving on in the event of a data breach is to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan to minimize the damage and prevent it from happening again.
2. Determine The Cause Of The Hack — The first step to take after an incident like this is to find the source of the attack. The answer could be obvious, or there could be various vulnerabilities in your network and therefore, many possible entry points. Knowing the reason for the hack can help you understand how and why you were breached as well as how to prevent potential future attacks.
3. Install An Intrusion Software — In addition to discovering the cause of the attack, you’ll also want to install an intrusion protection system or use an intrusion protection service to monitor your network’s traffic flow and detect any malicious attempts toward an application.
4. Clean Up Your Computer — Since it’s always possible that a hacker invaded your network through your computer, it’s important to clean up your system quickly. You can do this by downloading a trusted antivirus software. Antivirus software isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s the most basic action you can perform to help protect your network.
5. Reset Your Passwords — It’s always recommended that you change your passwords regularly, especially if you’re prone to reusing passwords. In the case of a hack, it’s no longer a recommendation—it is a necessity. In fact, in the event of an attack, you should act as though all of your login credentials were compromised.
6. Plan Ahead To Prevent Another Attack — Too often, people are not proactive in preparing to prevent attacks and are forced to play defense when it happens. This is where Disaster Recovery comes into play. Disaster Recovery services provide online data backup, so your website can be up and ready to go within a matter of hours in the event of a disaster. Without these cloud backup services, you could end up spending much more money and a prolonged period of time trying to restore your network and/or website.
Conclusion
If you’re not absolutely sure if your network is secure, we would love to help. At ANC Group, we provide a variety of network security solutions to protect your organization from cybercriminals, malware, and other threats. Our team is dedicated to providing you with affordable, custom-tailored solutions to meet your budget and business goals.
Contact us today at 888-424-4863!
