Your company has been victimized by hackers and cybercriminals and critical data has been breached.
The unfortunate reality of the world we live in is that the above statement will likely apply to you in some capacity at some point in the future. The threat is simply too large and growing too fast.
A big part of what Twizo focuses on is preemption and prevention but there is no bulletproof solution to cybersecurity. With that in mind while we must take actions to mitigate our potential victimization, what happens after the fact?
Are there steps we can to clean up the damage and stop it from happening again? Yes, there and here’s a checklist you need to follow:
Make Backups
This is something that should be done consistently and frequently regardless of whether you have been hacked or not. The more backups you have the easier it will be to restore your systems to where they were prior to the hack.
Database backups, logs and anything else you can conveniently replicate and store will make “turning the clock back” on a hack from a system functionality standpoint that much easier.
Investigate
We only move forward if we learn and that starts with investigating exactly what happened. How did the hackers gain access to the system? Were there specific weak entry points in your system that need to be optimized? You can’t fix the problem if you do not understand what the problem was to begin with and that starts with investigating the access logs found within your web server, SSH, Telnet, FTP, portals and other potential entry points.
Keep Investigating
What was actually hacked?
It is shocking to see how many victims of digital attacks cannot articulate exactly what data was compromised. It is critical to identify whether it was login credentials, customer information, intellectual property or other information so as to take the proper course of action with respect to updating customers.
Update Customers and Partners
Beyond the technical steps that must be taken in the aftermath of a cyber attack, updating your customers is critical. No one will react positively to knowing that a service they use has been attacked or that their personal information was compromised. The reactions will be infinitely worse though if customers find out that this information was kept hidden from them.
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A cyber attack is unpleasant and leads to a lengthy list of problems to solve. Although the hope is to preempt and prevent hackers from gaining access to our data, a clear course of action must be taken after a successful breach so as to minimize the damage and ensure customer confidence, as well as service integrity, remains high.
This article was contributed by Twizo Chief Commercial Officer, Eric Dadoun.
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About the author
Eric brings a world of knowledge, relationships and experience with him built on 15 years in the startup, tech and business world after having started his first company at 17 years old.
Eric now plays an integral role at Impiro and within some of its portfolio companies, Silverstreet and Twizo included, in terms of driving partner relationship development, strategy and new initiatives. His strong focus on providing great value, transparency and dedication to his partners has become synonymous with his approach to business and a foundational aspect of everything he does at the group.
Eric was born in Canada and is today based out of Singapore.
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