Look out for signs of hacking or a cyber attack
There are many signs you’ve been hit by a cyber-attack, for example:
- a strange new software on your laptop
- the system slowing down
- your passwords not working
- new website content that you didn’t publish.
Hackers could attack your:
- website
- IT network
- social media
- financial accounts
- staff accounts or systems.
What you must do
You don’t have a legal obligation to report any breaches or hacks, but you should still report them.
This will:
- lessen the chance of losing customer confidence
- help other businesses know and understand current risks
- know what you need to do to help prevent a repeat
- help control further damages.
If your website or email is hacked
How you handle the problem depends on what the issue is, but it’s not always easy to figure out what’s gone wrong.
Note down everything that’s happened, including:
- when and how you noticed the issue
- what’s been affected
- any other relevant details.
If your website shows a warning, it might have been hacked. This message may say "Reported attack site" or "This site may harm your computer”.
This means Google has detected something suspicious.
If you don’t have an IT expert on the team, there are many resources that can help you, such as Own Your Online.
If private information is compromised
If you accidentally lose someone’s information or your system gets hacked, you must manage the security breach.
It’s important to:
- identify exactly what happened and how
- take any immediate steps to stop the damage from becoming worse
- decide if it’s necessary to notify the people affected
- put a plan in place to prevent it happening again.
What to do after a cyber-attack
After you’ve handled a cyber security incident or breach, it’s important that you understand exactly what happened and how.
Put procedures in place to strengthen security and prevent any future problems. There are easy, everyday practices you can take to protect your systems and data, like backing up data regularly and keeping systems up to date.
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