We are now literally living in digital world where the power of convenience matters. However, just like what the quote from the movie Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility.

One of the major responsibilities you should do is to protect your business from anything, especially from hackers. Hackers are now getting sophisticated with how the techniques can be used in a variety of ways. Sadly, there are communities as well, where active members share and sell hacker tutorials incessantly. With how convenient these things are for hackers, the question now is no longer, “who” hacked it but “when” will they hack you?

The First Countermeasures for a Cyberattack

As a business, you should be vigilant and act accordingly when it comes to cyber security. Although you might have little background with IT jargons and how hacking works, you should take the initiative to learn about it. This infographic on external data breach made for non-techies can be your starting point. Here are some the first steps you need to do when you discover a cyber breach:

1. Do not panic and retain your sanity

The truth is, you cannot respond quickly and efficiently if you are anxious, mad, or panicking. A quick but strategized response is your best weapon to resolve this kind of issue. How you handle this attack is crucial both for your company and your people.

2. Immediately trigger the business contingency plan for such scenarios.

Contingency plans are there for one reason – to keep your business going. When something serious happens like hacking, you have to make sure your contingency plan is reliable and available. It may include notifying the BCP (Business Continuity Planning) team immediately, including the triggering communication process.

3. Do not turn-off the affected servers or network equipment.

However, do disconnect the affected servers and network equipment from the production environment.

4. Plan or do a restoration of backups or switch to a DR (Disaster Recovery) site using a different server or network route.

The restoration or switches should be included in the BCP Plan.

5. Preserve everything.

This is where you can analyze (or let someone analyze) what happened, where the hacks took place, and where the vulnerabilities in your systems are.

Recovery and Preventive Measures

Every business shouldn’t overlook the security of its system. Boost up your security and avoid cyber-attacks with these three ways. Another effective way to keep cyber-attacks at bay is to run an IT security audit. Here’s how it’s done:

1 Analyze all logs

These include system logs, event logs, application logs, network logs, firewall logs, IPDS logs, server logs, database logs, that maybe affected by the breach. If you cannot do this by yourself, hire an IT Security Analyst.

2. Plan for correction of affected vulnerabilities as reflected in the logs analysis.

3. Test correction via VA/PT

Do a regular VA/PT (Vulnerability Assessment/Penetration Testing) if there are additions in the infrastructure components or changes in the system.

4. Keep your staff educated.

Invest in training and IT certifications to ensure your staff or professionals are updated and educated in fixing Cyberattack.

5. High Business Data Security

Identity theft and cyber-attacks are rampant because of how irresponsible most of us are. This is definitely preventable if you, as an Executive or Head of the management will ensure a finite plan for your data-driven company.

Remember, with the technology that hackers have at their disposal today, it’s better to be prepared for cyberattacks. Even big companies with high-end security measures in place are not safe from hacker. Invest in IT audits and disaster recovery to keep your business data secured.