Post-Cyber Attack: 7 Critical Steps To Take Toward Full Recovery

A cyber attack or cyber breach happens when malicious people try to hack a computer system or network to destroy it or get sensitive information. These attacks have become commonplace and are getting more sophisticated and devastating by the day. Unfortunately, cyber threat is expected to increase as business operations and transactions become digitized. 

The attack may not be noticed immediately it happens – it may take a few days. Once it is noticeable, people panic and may not know what to do. The impact of the attack is usually adverse, including reputation damage and a reduction of operational abilities and revenue. 

That an organization can recover from a cyber attack is a crucial aspect that needs to be considered as part of the strategy in place for cyber security and risk management. In case of an attack, organizations from Baltimore and other nearby cities can engage IT support services in Baltimore to help in the recovery process. Here are critical steps to take towards recovery.

 

  • Recognize And Stop The Attack

This requires that you acknowledge that there is an attack then try to contain it to lessen the damage. This can be done by disabling the hackers’ access by isolating the systems that have been compromised. In case of an internal leak, it would be necessary to revoke access to the user account that was used. You may be required to also do a full system shut down or terminate internet connectivity for a while.

 

  • Communicate Effectively About The Cyber Attack

It is important to ensure that a cyber attack is well-reported and correct information about it is being spread. It is, therefore, crucial to have formal communication protocols after an attack in place way in advance. Ensure that internal communication between the departments is done with the right tone and there is proper sharing of information.

 

  • Determine What Is Lost And Extent Of Damage

Find out what was lost and this will determine the subsequent steps to take. Set up a task force to handle the recovery process and do the following:

  • Have the IT team put together all the facts that will help to come up with an effective plan  check services.
  • Document how the attack happened, how it will affect clients, the assets affected, who the victims are, and the type of attack.

 

  • Repair Damage And Restore Assets

You can opt to restore assets that were compromised by either replacing or cleaning up the data storage drives of affected IT assets. You could also download any lost data from a backup. Activating the entire cloud-based replicas of your network environment is another option to help continue business operations, as investigations on the attack go on.

 

  • Take Time To Understand Your Organization’s/Company’s Ethical Obligations

Be open and honest to employees and clients about the attack and what caused it. Assure the employees and clients that you have learned lessons from the attack. Let them know that you are working on serious internal adjustments and improvements to help prevent another attack.

Data security should be part and parcel of your company’s culture. This means doing the following:

  • Educating staff about the importance of data protection and the risks of a breach.
  • Training employees on data threats and how to prevent them in case they occur
  • Evaluate and strengthen all current security protocols.

 

  • Have A Response Plan In Place

It is common knowledge that every organization or company is at risk of a cyber attack. That said, it is important to prepare for this and have a plan in place to handle the attack in the best way possible. You should have plans for data recovery, strengthening security systems, reporting to the authorities, and statements for clients. This will result in having business remain operational and losses minimized even after the attack.

 

  • Purchase Cyber Insurance 

Cyber insurance is a service to secure your organization or company. It will help in recovering from a cyber attack quickly and effectively in terms of the costs that have to be incurred.


To Wind Up

Cyber attacks are incidents that have become increasingly common. In response to this reality, organizations have put in place various mechanisms to ensure cyber security and minimize bad effects in case a cyber attack does take place. It is therefore important to ensure proper management of any cyber incident before, during, and after it happens.

It is also crucial to have backup and recovery as key components of a good cyber security strategy. It is advisable to have backup and recovery infrastructure isolated from other systems. This is done to host business data that is critical and also minimize the impact of a cyber-attack among other advantages.