A Guide On What You Should Do If Hacked
No doubt you already know, cyber-crime is real, and, on the rise. Cyber-attacks are happening increasingly more often than ever before.
Do you realise, it could very easily happen to you and your business? Do you ever wonder what effects being hacked could have on your business if it were to happen? And most importantly this question – Do you know what to do when it happens?
This blog is about educating you for the worst-case scenario so you and your team can stay one step ahead knowing what to do to win the battle and save your business from any security threats that may occur.
Worries We All Have In Common
We all have personal documents, even at home… family photographs, passports, birth certificates, bank cards, bank letters and other private documents, we would be devastated if anything happened to them so we do our best to keep our personal documents safe and hidden away at home for any scenario that might happen.
Why should it be any different for your business? businesses have a lot more personal documents, files, data, even client’s data that businesses have been trusted to keep confidential, safe, and secure.
We worry about the impact it could have on our business and we worry about the consequences it could have, such as, perhaps losing loyal clients, damaging hard earned reputation. Therefore, it’s crucial we know what to do.
The Impact Being Hacked Could Have On Your Business
Let’s imagine being in the situation of being hacked, imagine how you feel and imagine your clients and what the situation means for your business. Below are some issues being hacked can have on your business.
- Loss of reputation
- Loss of funds
- Damaged credit rating
- Loss of confidential data
- Loss of clients/customers trust
- Losing clients
- Log in credentials being stolen
- Unauthorized purchases
- Personal data being sold on the dark web
- Identity fraud
Solution – What You Should Do If Hacked
To solve the issue, first you need to recognise that you’ve been hacked, what data is at risk, then act.
1. The first call after you recognise that you’ve been hacked is to contact your IT Support team, they will help find what data is at risk or been compromised then come up with a strategic plan.
2. Report to the relevant authorities within 72 hours of recognising being hacked, the report should be made to the ICO Information commissioner’s office in the UK.
3. Inform anyone the data breach might affect, be transparent and reassure them you are taking the appropriate steps to rectify the situation.
4. Communicate with your whole team, communication is key in this situation. Let your team know what has happened and the plan of action.
5. Think of an alternative way to do business until the network is safe again.
6. Change all log in credentials, all your team will need to change every single password.
7. Regular team training on cybersecurity to ensure everyone knows what to look out for so they stay vigilant. Click here to read our guide on suspicious things to look for within emails, otherwise known as phishing emails.
For further advice or if you don’t have any IT Support currently in place, get in touch with us at Innovec. We will be happy to answer any questions you might have.