The first minutes after a cyberattack are crucial in managing its effects. Businesses and IT teams should establish and practice an incident response plan that immediately addresses any threat that comes their way.
Cyberattack First Aid: What to Do Immediately After Detection
These seven steps allow organizations to adequately address data breaches and cyberattacks, control their spread, and protect sensitive data and involved parties.
1. Assess the Spread
The first step to properly addressing a cyberattack is assessing the extent to which the attackers have penetrated the system. Has it only affected a single device, or has the attack spread to multiple computers across entire departments? Assessing the spread helps teams allocate enough time and resources to resolve the issue.
For example, if only one person downloaded malware and no other devices show signs of infection, that may be the only computer that’s been compromised. However, hacked online accounts or ransomware could affect entire networks or multiple devices, which requires a more extensive approach.
2. Disconnect and Isolate Affected Systems
Once the team identifies the affected devices or networks, they should disconnect or fence them off. If the attack only infected one computer, disconnect it from the network and shut it down. If entire networks or servers have been compromised, take them offline. This step prevents the attack or infection from spreading and keeps the rest of the system safe.
3. Evaluate the Damage
With everything isolated and disconnected, it’s safe to examine the parts affected by the breach or cyberattack. Was the hacker able to access any files or information? If so, did they contain sensitive data that could harm individuals or the company if exposed?
Teams should document this process to ensure nothing gets missed in their damage control strategy.
4. Wipe and Restore
After assessing the affected files, networks, or servers and documenting the damage, it’s time to wipe the affected areas and revert them to factory settings. This process helps remove the damage and prevent further unauthorized access, giving teams a clean slate.
Then, the team should restore everything with available backups. Organizations must maintain updated backups of their files and servers. They could then resume operating as usual. For additional security, IT teams could perform a quick scan to ensure the restored backups are free from malware or other suspicious activity.
5. Report the Incident
Cybersecurity incidents, especially those involving businesses, government agencies, or private organizations, should be reported to the appropriate authorities. Companies should call the police and report the breach, especially if there is a risk of identity theft. Depending on the nature of the data, they may also need to call the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, or the Federal Trade Commission.
The company’s information can help the government catch the parties responsible for the attack. It can also add to ongoing research and statistics surrounding attack methods, patterns, and other cybersecurity matters.
6. Block the Source
During the investigation, the team or the authorities will likely discover details about the attacker, like their IP address and malware signatures. IT teams should immediately block these addresses to ensure they don’t reach their systems again.
7. Notify Everyone Affected
If the breach or attack involved sensitive information, especially that belonging to customers, employees, or business partners, it’s crucial to notify all parties involved. The company is responsible for informing everyone affected about the status of the breach, the data affected, and the steps they can take to protect themselves.
Ways to Strengthen Cybersecurity Defenses
Knowing how to act in times of a cyberattack is one thing—preventing these attempts from reaching one’s networks is another. These best practices can help organizations protect themselves and deter cyberattacks from crossing their threshold.
Analyze Past Attacks
If a company experiences a data breach, it should conduct an extensive investigation, especially regarding the methods the hackers use to get past its defenses. Analyzing these attacks can uncover patterns and identify vulnerabilities that can inform response plans and changes in cybersecurity practices.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
A risk assessment involves identifying a system’s risks and vulnerabilities. These could include outdated software, a lack of encryption, or poor access control management. Risks could also come from external sources and targeted attacks, such as malware and ransomware.
During this process, companies should identify sensitive files and networks that require stronger protection and develop plans to provide the necessary precautions.
Set up or Strengthen Access Controls
Businesses should implement clear and strict access controls on tools and data, especially concerning confidential information. During his time as a National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden accessed over 1.7 million classified files due to poor controls.
Employees should only access documents necessary for them to perform their jobs. If they don’t need to interact with or see it, they don’t need access to it. Role-based access control helps prevent insider threats, even accidental ones. It can also control the extent of damage a breach can cause, in case a hacker gets into an employee’s account.
Encrypt Sensitive Data
Encryption converts files or data into a jumbled secret code that only people with the correct key can access. It is a necessary part of any cybersecurity plan—even if a hacker gets hold of a file, they couldn’t understand it without the right decryption key.
Train Employees
Employees are a company’s primary defense against cyberattacks. A well-trained workforce can spot and stop threats before they reach the system. For example, if they spot a phishing email, they’d know to delete it instead of opening it and potentially compromising their device or network.
Companies should conduct regular cybersecurity training to educate staff on potential cyberthreats and how to respond effectively. A 2024 survey revealed that 70% of organizations find that a lack of cybersecurity skills in their workforce creates additional risks for their operations.
Proactive Planning for Stronger Defenses
Time is crucial during a cyberattack. A few minutes or seconds could mark the difference between keeping confidential data safe and falling victim to identity theft or ransomware. Companies should always have a plan ready and regularly strengthen their defenses to ensure the safety and trust of their employees, customers, and business partners.
Zac Amos is the features editor at ReHack.
Photo courtesy Philip Oroni for Unsplash+
