If your company has an online presence, you are at a higher risk for a cyber attack. Unfortunately, cybercriminals often target businesses through their website and online services in order to scam them. This could be through many different types of attacks. One of the most popular ways cyber criminals hack companies is through their data, which is often sensitive data about their employees or customers. They can use this data in order to steal their money, or hold the data for ransom in order to get money out of you. 

However, knowing what to do in the event of a cyber attack will really help you in the long run. This article will run through all of the ways in which you can better protect your client’s data, how to protect your employees, and how you can mitigate financial damage in the unfortunate event of a cyber attack. 

What if my company gets hacked?

There are many protocols that you will need to follow if your company ends up being hacked by scammers. Making sure you follow the incident response plan will allow you to keep calm and mitigate any possible damage caused. You will need to alert the right members of staff, start to take action against it, and reduce as much damage as possible.

These are usually the steps you will need to take: 

1. Disconnect all business devices from the internet. This will make sure that the methods the cyber criminals are using to hack your website will stop in their tracks. 
2. Disable remote access. Even if there are employees working remotely, their access needs to be stopped immediately in case someone is hacking via their computer. 
3. Install cyber security updates – this will mean that your company’s data is better protected from any malware that may attack you.
4. Change all passwords- ensuring your employees change each of their passwords means that the possibility of the hacker getting back in is significantly reduced
5. Strengthen your firewall- your cyber security software and your firewall often work in tandem to ensure that your company’s data is as protected as possible – strengthening your firewall will only keep you more protected. 
6. Investigate- try to get to the bottom of why your company’s records have been hacked- this will allow you to know how to protect your company much more effectively. Manby cyber security programmes have hacker tracking software which could help you with this. 
7. Possibly take down your website – if your website has been hacked severely, you might need to take it down in the short term. To protect your website data, ask your website provider to save your data. There are also services which will allow you to scan, diagnose and fix your website which can help when it comes to preventing business operations. 

Reporting the attack

A severe business cyber attack will need to be reported so it can be dealt with, and anyone at risk can take the steps to protect themselves. 

If money is lost, you will need to contact the specific authority in your country. This is incredibly crucial if you have lost customer data or money. This is true even if you go on to recover it. They will direct you in what you need to do next. You will often have to 

• Let the client know that you have lost their money
• Repay all of their money 
• Take steps to protect their information

You will also need to contact your bank in order to sort out financial repayments, and you will also need to contact your professional indemnity insurance provider. 

If you’ve lost sensitive personal data, you also need to report this to the relevant authorities in your country. They will be able to ensure that your customers will be kept safe in spite of the breach. 

How Do I Prevent Further Cyber Attacks?

After the dust has settled and everything is all sorted, you will need to have extensive conversations within your organisation to get to the root cause of the cyber attack. Knowing why a cyber attack happened can help you prevent further attacks as your company grows. 

When enough time has passed, you will need to discuss these things with your employees:

1. How did the cyber attack happen? For example, did some cyber security software malfunction, or did one of your employees fall victim to a phishing attack? Knowing this will allow you to change your cyber security plan for the future. 
2. What was the extent of the impact? This will allow you to figure out how long it will take to rectify the impact, and how to prevent them in the future. 
3. What went well in the incident response? This will allow your team to know where their strengths are, and means you know where you don’t need to improve. This can help streamline your cyber security process. 
4. Where do we need to be better? This will let you know where you need to improve your company’s cyber security process and can prevent an attack of this extent happening again. 

What insurance would help me protect my business in the event of a cyber attack?

There are many different insurance policies that would help you in the case you are a victim of a cyber attack. Considering getting one of these policies for your business could help you massively when it comes to the financial strain that follows a cyber attack. 

Professional Indemnity Insurance

This will protect you against any claims your customers make against you due to the effects of the cyber attack, which could happen, particularly if their sensitive data is compromised. It is a good idea as it could protect your business a lot if you are a victim of a cyber attack. 

Cyber Insurance 

Cyber insurance may be able to help with a lot of the incident response plan you’ve set in place. They can help stop the attack, the cost of stopping the breach, help you investigate the cause, restore systems and information, and can inform your customers on your behalf. Some policies will also help you restore your professional reputation and can help with fines put on your company. They can also prevent cyber extortion such as via ransomware. It can be one of the best ways you can protect your company after a cyber attack. 

Data Insurance

Data insurance is a really good idea, as it protects the financial loss you may experience when it comes to data protection. As data loss is one of the biggest reasons a company may lose money, it could be the difference between minor financial loss and financial devastation in case you are the victim of a data breach.

Taking the necessary steps in the event of a cyber attack is key to mitigating the amount of damage caused by cyber criminals. Making sure your response plan is detailed and precise will allow you to protect your company in the best way possible.