Your Company’s Data Got Compromised: 5 Things To Do Immediately
Data compromise leads to financial loss, reputational damage, loss of customer trust, and legal consequences.
- Data is very valuable in today’s digital world — it provides insights and drives organizational decision-making.
- However, data breaches and cyber threats have become increasingly prevalent, making it crucial for companies to protect their data to avoid financial losses, legal repercussions, and damage to reputation.
- The following article highlights the five things you can do immediately if your company’s data gets compromised.
In today’s tech-driven world, data is critical to the success of companies as it provides insights into consumer behavior, market trends, and business operations. Companies rely on data to optimize strategies, improve customer experiences, and drive innovation. Without access to accurate and reliable data, businesses may struggle to compete in the market and make strategic decisions.
Being the most valuable asset to a company, organizations put the strictest measures in place to protect their data. However, data breaches have become increasingly common and pose a significant business risk. According to a January 2023 report by the ‘Identity Theft Resource Center,’ 2022 witnessed around 1,802 organizational data compromises, which impacted 422.1 million victims globally.
If your company’s data gets compromised despite implementing the best data protection strategies, it can be a stressful and overwhelming experience and may result in financial losses, damage your reputation, and have legal liabilities. According to the 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute, the global average cost of a data breach was $4.35 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $5 million by the end of 2023.
Considering the after-effects of such data losses, acting quickly to minimize the damage and prevent further unauthorized access becomes crucial. Here are five things you should do immediately.
1. Secure Your Systems
The first thing you should do is secure your systems to prevent any further unauthorized access. Changing all your passwords and revoking access to any compromised accounts is essential. You should update or patch the affected software if the breach was due to a software vulnerability. Consider limiting access to sensitive data and using multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security.
2. Investigate the Breach
Determine the extent of the data breach and identify which data has been compromised. You can thoroughly investigate your systems and look for any signs of malicious activity. You should also identify the source of the breach and take steps to prevent it from happening again. Determine what type of data was stolen, including personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, and intellectual property.
In July 2022, an attacker posted on the hacking forum BreachForums that data from 5.4 million Twitter accounts were on sale. Twitter confirmed that the data compromised included email addresses and phone numbers of celebrities, companies, and random users. The incident was a consequence of a vulnerability on Twitter which was discovered in January 2022.
Another such incident surfaced in mid-February 2023, where ACER, the Taiwanese electronics maker, confirmed that its intellectual property was compromised and the data was being sold by hackers on unknown forums.
Understanding the extent of a data breach helps you recover faster from such unfortunate events.
3. Notify Stakeholders
Notify relevant stakeholders of the data breach, including customers, vendors, and partners. Depending on the nature of the data breach, you may also need to notify regulatory authorities or law enforcement. It is critical to be transparent and provide accurate information about the breach, including what data was compromised and what steps you’re taking to mitigate the damage.
4. Implement a Response Plan
Have a response plan to guide your actions during a data breach. The plan should outline the steps to take when a data breach occurs and who is responsible for each action. It’s crucial to implement the plan as quickly as possible to mitigate the damage. Your response plan should include steps such as containing the breach, notifying stakeholders, and investigating the cause of the breach.
One recent use case of a response plan that helped a company to recover from a data breach is the response plan implemented by Colonial Pipeline after a ransomware attack in May 2021. The attack, attributed to a criminal group called DarkSide, disrupted the company’s operations and caused fuel shortages in several U.S. states.
Colonial Pipeline’s response plan involved several steps, including:
- Isolating infected systems: Isolating systems helps businesses recover from the ransomware attack by containing the spread of the malware and limiting its impact to a specific part of the network, allowing the unaffected parts to continue functioning and enabling the company to restore its operations more quickly.
- Engaging with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts: Engaging with experts provides access to specialized resources, expertise, and guidance on how to handle the attack, which ultimately helped the company to mitigate the damage, restore its systems, and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
- Restoring operations as quickly and safely as possible: Restoring operations quickly allows companies to minimize the disruption caused by the ransomware attack, prevent further damage, and resume fuel deliveries, thus reducing the financial and reputational impact of the attack.
- Proactively communicating updates on the situation: Communicating updates on the situation allows companies to build trust and transparency with stakeholders, avoid misinformation, and demonstrate their commitment to resolving the issue promptly and efficiently, thus minimizing the negative impact of the attack.
- Mitigating the impact of the attack: Mitigating the impact of the attack by implementing measures such as isolating affected systems, restoring backups, and enhancing cybersecurity protocols helps minimize the damage caused by the attack, prevent similar incidents from occurring, and restore operations quickly and safely, thus facilitating their recovery.
5. Provide Support To Affected Parties
Provide support to any affected parties, such as customers or employees, whose data has been compromised. This may include credit monitoring services, identity theft protection, or other forms of assistance. Be transparent and provide regular updates on the status of the breach and the steps being taken to address it. Consider offering a hotline or website to provide information and support to affected parties.
During the Microsoft Exchange Server hack in 2021, tens of thousands of organizations worldwide were affected. Microsoft responded by offering free tools to detect and remediate the attack, as well as a hotline was put in place to assist customers with their inquiries and provide guidance on how to protect their systems. This timely support helped affected organizations to quickly recover from the incident, preventing further damage and restoring confidence in Microsoft’s products and services.
See More: Uber Confirms Data Breach after Third-Party Vendor Gets Hacked
Takeaway
Responding to a data breach can be challenging, but taking immediate action is critical. By investigating the breach, implementing a response plan, and providing support to affected parties, you can mitigate the damage and prevent further unauthorized access. It’s also essential to learn from the experience and make changes to your security practices to prevent future breaches.
What’s the best way to manage a data breach? Comment below or let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
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