A data breach is bad news. Whether it's an inside job or the work of a hacker via a dangerous malware download, the damage caused by a cybersecurity breach can be catastrophic. Recent reports show that the cost of a breach can run into the millions of dollars in fines and legal fees. Add to that the loss of customer trust.
In short, you need to protect your business at all costs, and if a criminal breach occurs, you need to act quickly to secure your business and protect your customers. Here are some steps to take after a cybersecurity breach.
Assess the damage and notify customers
The first step to take immediately after a data breach is to determine what data has been stolen or damaged. Some hackers are looking for credit card numbers, others are looking only for email addresses. Give your IT team time to look closely and in detail at what was stolen and which customers were affected.
Any stolen information can cause a problem for your customers. Social security numbers can be used to take out fraudulent loans that can put the customer in debt. Even email addresses can be used to send malicious phishing emails and provide a gateway to their email account to steal other information. Regardless of what data has been compromised, it is your responsibility to inform your customers.
Start by contacting each individual victim of the breach and notifying them of what was stolen and provide instructions on how to remedy the situation (cancel a credit card, watch for spam, dispute charges). Even if the leak was unintentional, every potential consumer has a right to know when a company is breached so they can decide where to buy without feeling like something has been hidden from them. In all cases, inform victims as soon as possible.
Provide guidance to customers
While simply notifying them is a good first step, it doesn't hurt to give customers advice that your company and employees should emulate. For example, you should ask them to update all passwords so that hackers can't use access to inflict further damage. Your employees should also have complex passwords to prevent fraud, which should include a combination of letters, numbers and special characters.
It's also not a bad idea to recommend that clients install anti-virus software on their systems. If you have the budget and really want to be helpful, offer them a one-year subscription to a reputable anti-virus software service to show that you really care about their well-being. Anti-virus software and a firewall should also be installed on all employee computers to provide an extra layer of security.
If financial information has been stolen, customers should be advised to call their bank to cancel the cards and inform them of the possibility of fraudulent charges. Someone from your company should also call the credit card company to inform them of the situation. Take care of it immediately, because every second that passes gives hackers a chance to rack up fake charges.
Secure your systems
Once customers are informed, it's time to beef up your security so this never happens again. Consider bringing in an outside consultant who can give your security system a fresh look and help you fix weak spots. They should look for the source of the problem, because if you don't find the source, it's likely to happen again.
Another innovative approach that many companies are trying is to hire an ethical hacker. Basically, this is a person who comes in and tries to voluntarily hack into your systems to detect any vulnerabilities. When they break into the system, they can see the flaws and the damage they could cause if breached. This information can be invaluable in strengthening security and estimating the potential consequences of a hack.
Once you've taken these extra steps to protect your business from any potential vulnerabilities, get back in touch with your customers and tell them what you're doing on your end to make your business a safe place. If you show them that you've gone above and beyond to help them, they'll be more likely to return.
Make no mistake, a data breach at your company is no small matter, but if you take responsibility and work to resolve your issues, your company will be back on track.