No one expects their business to become a victim of a cyberattack.
In fact, most businesses who find themselves under attack have some form of security protection.
However, if you notice programs opening or closing automatically, pop-ups, lack of storage space, or blue screens, there’s a chance there is an active attack within your environment.
With this realization, your mind starts reeling with what to do next, how to minimize the effects of the attack, and the long-term effects of the breach.
As a security consulting company, The KR Group has received frantic phone calls when organizations realize their IT environment is under attack and don’t know what to do.
Our highly-skilled team of security experts has experience responding to security threats and preventing future attacks.
When our security team receives a phone call from a company that suspects or knows they’re under attack, they guide the victims through four steps:
- Step 1: Don’t Panic
- Step 2: Contact Help Desk or IT Provider
- Step 3: Clean up
- Step 4: Prevention
Keep in mind, the following steps may look slightly different depending on your company and the type of attack. However, these four steps will give you a good understanding of what happens when you bring in a security expert to respond to an attack.
Step 1: Don’t Panic
We know. This is easier said than done.
However, to get an idea of what happened and what you’re experiencing, we will need you to provide us information about the incident.
Many times businesses opt on their own to immediately unplug the affected device. Depending on the type of attack, that isn’t always necessary.
However, you should disconnect any affected devices from your network so the threat doesn’t continue to propagate.
Step 2: Contact Help Desk or IT Provider
Unless you or your IT department has credentials in cybersecurity, it’s worth bringing in external experts to quickly and effectively address the threat.
They have the knowledge and experience to quickly address numerous types of threats and confidently guide you through the response process.
As frantic as you may be about the state of your IT environment, your security consultant has dealt with similar situations before.
They won’t be surprised when you explain you believe there is an active threat in your environment and how it happened.
A good security consultant will ask the following questions simply to gather information about the situation.
- When did you first notice the threat?
- What systems do you know to be affected?
- Do you have any idea how the threat was introduced to your environment?
- Have you tried to address the attack in any way?
Step 3: Clean-up
With the answers to the above questions, your security consultant can advise you on what measures to take.
They’ll also start to create an action plan, including which incident response tools to deploy and how to segment your network.
How long it will take to have your IT environment fully functional again depends on the type of attack and how far it spread across your network. The time frame can vary from days to weeks.
However, your security adviser will quickly remove the immediate threat from your environment.
Step 4: Prevention
Once the attack is cleaned up and you’ve mitigated the imminent threat, it’s time to revisit your incident response procedures.
Attacks catch many companies off guard, and while we hope you’ll never go through this again, we’d rather you be over-prepared.
A good incident response plan includes:
- Information on preventing and preparing for an attack
- How to determine if your IT environment has been breached
- Steps to contain an active attack
- Steps to eradicated an attack
- Methods to recover any lost or encrypted data
This is also a good time to think about user education training. Your users are your last line of defense, which makes them your biggest vulnerability.
In fact, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error.
Teaching your users how to avoid and identify malicious threats is one of the most effective ways to protect your IT environment.
What not to do
Following the above steps should help get your IT environment back up and running. However, it’s just as important to have a guide on what you shouldn’t do when you find you find an active threat.
1. Never assume everything is OK.
If you’re the victim of a cyberattack, expect there to be some consequences as a result.
Your IT department or security consultant will need to thoroughly analyze the entirety of your environment to make sure all traces of the attack are gone and clean up any affected data.
However, they can’t guarantee they’ll be able to restore all of your files and return your network to how it was before the attack.
Ignoring or brushing off an attack can be devastating for your IT environment. Be over-cautious and thorough.
2. Don’t try to resolve it on your own.
Not all cyberattacks are created equally. Specific attacks require specific measures to mitigate.
A security expert can efficiently identify attacks and start mitigating them with methods they know will work for that type of attack.
3. Don’t ignore security tips and tricks.
Staying updated on best cybersecurity practices can benefit your organization before, during, and after an attack.
Our Learning Center is full of advice, solutions, and services to strengthen your security posture.
Moving forward after an attack
If you are the victim of a cyberattack, know you aren’t alone.
Hacker attacks occur every 39 seconds on average, and one in three Americans are affected every year.
Don’t take the situation lightly, but also know, a security adviser will help you get your IT environment back on track.
Yes, the process of responding to threats can be complicated. But, by working through the incident in four steps – not panicking, contacting support, cleaning up the threat, and preventing future attacks – you can get a handle on the current breach and prevent future ones.
By relying on a knowledgeable resource during this process, you’ll be supported by experts every step of the way.
If you’re currently under attack, you can reach out to us to see how our security team can assist you.
Otherwise, bookmark this page, and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay updated on security and other technology information.
