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7 Steps to Take After a Data Breach

By November 11, 2019No Comments6 min read
data breach disaster recovery

The data breach has become the worst nightmare of companies. Hackers are using more complex attacks for stealing sensitive information. More than 30% of online businesses have suffered from a data breach. Data breaches are evolving with time. Thus, every business should know what to do to recover from a data breach. You need to quickly react to any data breach. More than 60% of companies go out of business due to data breach.

Data breaches can be very expensive. According to a report by the Ponemon institute, your company can lose more than $200 per compromised record. If your whole company data is leaked, then it will be virtually impossible to recover. Data breaches can be deadly for small businesses. Your customer will lose trust in your company. You should use the best security practices for protecting your data. Even the best security measures can fail. Hence, you should always be ready to deal with a data breach. If your response is effective, then you can save your company.

  1. Identify what data was stolen

First, you need to find out what data was stolen in the breach. You can divide your data into three different categories:

  • Least sensitive data: Your customer addresses and names come in this category. This type of data is mostly harmless. You can find this type of data by using google search. Digital marketers can easily find this data. Thus, this data won’t cause you serious trouble.
  • More sensitive data: Your customer card detail, email, and Date of birth come in this category. If your customer email address is stolen, then spammers will spam their email. Hackers can use stolen card details for doing fraud transactions. Scammers can use your name and date of birth for verifying your identity.
  • Most sensitive data: Your customer passwords, CVV number, security codes, and passport numbers come in this category. Hackers can use leaked passwords for hijacking online accounts. They can use your customer’s CVV number for doing fraud transactions.

Most companies think that their encrypted data is safe. But, hackers can crack most types of encryption. If your customer’s social or security insurance number is stolen, then you are in big trouble.

  1. Review your Ethical and Legal obligations

Most of the data breach regulations are complicated and complex. There are many state and federal laws that you have to follow. These regulations will tell you when you should notify your customers. Some of these rules may have strict deadlines. Thus, you must take advice from your legal team.

It is also your company’s moral duty to notify your users about the data breach. If your user’s credit card details are stolen, then you don’t need to pay anything for credit card report monitoring. But, if you want to protect your business reputations then you must notify your customers about the data breach.

  1. Stop the data breach

You should look for an infected system or device. Once you have found the infected system you should shut down your system. This will make sure that any malicious activity is stopped. Your main aim is to stop the attack from spreading. Thus, it is best to take your whole system down and find the infected system.

  1. Change all compromised passwords

After fixing your system you need to change all the compromised passwords. You don’t want hackers to access your system by using old passwords. Thus, it is important to change all the passwords. If you are using a weak password, then make sure to use a strong password this time. Many companies only change the password of the network or device that was hacked. But, you should change all the passwords of every network and device. This will make sure that hackers can’t use old credentials for logging into your network.

  1. Time for your disaster recovery plan

Once you have changed all the passwords, it is time for your disaster recovery plan. If you already have a recovery plan, then you must execute it. You should also consult your legal counsel for dealing with legal responsibilities. If you are working with managed service providers, then you must also contact them.

  1. Check your accounts

You should monitor your accounts even after you have fixed the breach. Many hackers will store some virus in your system. Thus, you must always monitor your systems for unusual activity.

If hackers have stolen financial information, then you must contact banks. They will help you with freezing all the compromised bank accounts. This will make sure that hackers can’t use financial information from their clients. It is also important to contact the credit card bureaus. They will place fraud alerts on every account.

  1. Contact experts

You may know everything about your business. But, you don’t know anything about a data breach. Thus, it is best to hire experts who know about how to deal with data breaches. You can hire an investigation team that will help you in finding the affected system. If you already have an IT department, then you can work with them. They will help you in finding the affected system. It is important to understand the reason behind the data breach. This will help you in developing a future strategy.

Conclusion

A data breach is the worst thing that can happen to any company. You should try to avoid any data breach by employing the best security practices. If you are already hit by a data breach, then you must first find the affected system. After finding the system, you should take down your whole network. It is also important to change all your old passwords. If your customer’s data is leaked, then you must inform them about the data breach. It is difficult to deal with a data breach. Hence, you must work with an outside investigation team. If you want more information about how to deal with a data breach, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.