What to do After You’ve Been Hacked…
The modern world is full of wondrous technology. You can talk to someone thousands of miles away in an instant, pay for purchases at the click of a button and some printers can even 3D print a car. However, the downfall of this is that some people take advantage of the capabilities of technology to take advantage of security weaknesses that your company may have. There is no warning for hacking, but the lessons learnt from it can be very important.
So, if the worst does occur, what do you do?
Ask Questions
Why did this happen to your company? How can you prevent it from happening in the future? These are basic questions, but something that can benefit your company exponentially moving forward. Identifying the areas of weakness and that are more prone to attack means that you can act to defend them better. Sometimes it’s obvious; they have gone after your bank details to steal money from you. Or, they may have been trying to access your business itself in order to obtain passwords or other sensitive information.
Whatever the reason, understanding it can be the first step to preventing future attacks.
Protect Your Passwords
Once an attack has happened, you need to protect yourself as much as is possible. The immediate response – before even trying to work out what has been affected – should be to change any and all passwords. Having an attack is devastating, having the same thing happen again due to not taking the necessary steps is almost unthinkable. Fool me once…
Passwords should always be periodically changed as part of a good practice security routine. However, an attack makes this of paramount importance. Especially with passwords that only alternate slightly; such as PASSWORD and PASSWORD1. Changing one without the other, or changing your password to a very similar alternative in the aftermath of an attack leaves you extremely vulnerable. Reusing passwords feels safe, there is no question that it is much easier to remember and overall more convenient. However, when it comes to digital safety it is one of the biggest mistakes people make. It should be avoided at all costs.
Passwords can be one of the biggest liabilities to the safety of your company. So, create a unique password before they become a revolving door for hackers to exploit.
Perform an Audit
The best course of action, once you have managed to put a stop to immediate issues, is to perform a full system audit. This will help to narrow down the exact issues that led to your system being vulnerable in the first place. It will also, once completed, help you to remove any viruses or other malicious content left behind by the hackers.
An audit is also a perfect way to assess your IT systems as a whole. Find out where the issues lie, if there are any backdoors that can be exploited and what processes can be streamlined to reduce the chances of future attacks. There is no way to go back in time if you have been hacked. But, an audit is the best way to help guard the future.
Are you having difficulty keeping your network secure through proper comprehensive IT Support? Then contact us on 01524 581690 to discuss your options with our friendly team here at Q2Q-IT, or you can email us at [email protected].
