Breach.  Threat.  Attack.  

These words are commonplace in the IT world today. Thankfully, the cybersecurity industry is fighting back with tactics in prevention, detection, and mitigation.

Cybersecurity has become a common conversation for IT departments.   It is forcing companies to face the reality of cybersecurity and how they are going to protect their intellectual property, valuable assets, and critical services.  Businesses are struggling to keep up with the intense demands of preventing the constant barrage of attacks.  Without strategic planning and prevention, hackers are going to continue to wreak havoc and cost organizations substantial loss of operational expenses.  

Consider these questions as you take a look at your business’s current business continuity plan.

• Would your business be able to survive a security breach today?
• Do you have any vulnerabilities or lapses in your current infrastructure or services?
• Would your organization be able to pick up the pieces and continue operation after an attack?

These are questions that must be asked before it’s too late.  Let’s review some important steps that are helpful to follow during a security breach.

Step 1. Implement Plans & Protocols

Upon notification of an attack, immediately implement all security plans and protocols.  Make sure all team members have a copy of this strategic plan so response procedures can begin immediately.   This will help reduce the amount of risk that comes with a breach.

Step 2. Contain & Eradicate

It is imperative to contain it as quickly as possible.  You have to work fast to prevent it from spreading and impacting more areas of your business.  It may require you to change passwords on things or disable permissions to networks or applications.  By stopping the progression of the breach, you will minimize the damage to your organization.

Step 3. Identify & Investigate

Follow the direct impact of the breach.  Discover where it originated from and what it targeted so you can gain a complete view of what was affected.   

Step 4. Review the Events

Perform a full, internal assessment after the breach is contained to determine what impact the breach had.  Ensure all components are checked and document the damage properly.  Contact those within your organization that need to know about the incident.

Step 5. Adapt Your Cybersecurity Plan

After the situation is handled, take a step back and take a look at what happened and why.  Review the incident and learn from the vulnerabilities it exposed.  Establish new policies, implement new procedures, or install new technologies so that your organization can prevent any further damage. 

The cybersecurity team at Advanticom is ready to guide your business through the development of a security plan. Click here to see how we approach the strategy behind cybersecurity protections.