Cyber security incidents are quite common in this digital age which is why it is so important to have strong security measures in place. There are many malicious activities such as ransomware attacks and data breaches that can take place so as a company, you need to have a plan in place to respond to an incident.
There are cyber security service providers that will help tailor a cyber incident response for your company so that the breach can be contained. The first step is identifying the breach and you need to act quickly so that further damage can be prevented. You will need to disconnect ay systems that have been compromised from the network so that the attacker will not be able to spread within your company infrastructure. Sometimes the breach can be due to unauthorised access or malware. In this situation, you will need to shut down the source which can be done by blocking malicious IPs, disabling any devices that have been affected and disabling any compromised accounts. You need to preserve digital evidence when you are working to contain the breach so that you can use it for legal and forensic investigations. You need to make sure that the data is not tampered with or destroyed.
You need to maintain transparency
If your company has experienced a cyber security breach. This means notifying all the relevant parties of this so that they can take the appropriate actions as well. You will need to alert the internal teams which are your IT and security teams so that they will be able to evaluate the extent of the breach. There are also legal and compliance teams you will need to inform so that they can make sure that action is taken according to the relevant laws and regulations. You may need to contact law enforcement as well so that they can track down perpetrators. Sometimes, customer or employee data may be compromised as a result of the breach. In this situation, you will need to inform the affected individuals and guide them on how they can protect their personal details.
Once you have contained
The breach and alerted the relevant parties regarding the incident, you will need to carry out a thorough assessment of the scope of the incident. You need to understand the impact of the incident by determining which assets or systems are compromised. You need to check which data has been accessed, altered or stolen. You will need to find out how the attackers have gained access to your systems or networks as this will help protect your weaknesses for the future. Assess the sensitive data that has been exposed in the breach. You can categorise this data based on its sensitivity. There should also be a detailed timeline of the incident created so that you understand how this took place which can be very helpful when it comes to future prevention. You will also have to comply with certain legal and regulatory requirements that apply to your industry and region.
