What to Do After a Data Breach

Topics: Agent Resources AmTrust News Cyber Liability

Summary: Falling victim to a data breach is a stressful, costly situation for businesses of all sizes. In this article, we'll focus on how to respond to a cyber attack and what to do after a data breach. 

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What Should a Company Do After a Cyber Attack or Data Breach?

Any business could face the risk of a data breach or cyber attack. Regardless of how big or small your business is, recovering from the aftermath could be difficult if your data, important documents, or customer information is exposed.

What is a Cyber Attack or Data Breach?

There are many types of data breaches or cyber attacks. Some of the most common include:
  • Phishing is a type of social engineering scam that attempts to obtain sensitive information using email fraudulently.
  • Ransomware is malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money (or ransom) is paid or some other action is completed.
  • Baiting is a cyber attack that infects a computer with malware after tricking someone into downloading free music or movies.

How Do You Respond to a Cyber Breach?

If you have cyber insurance, your provider may offer in-house expertise and services specifically tailored to enhance the cyber response and defenses. When a cyber event happens, your insurance company may have experts who walk you through the proper response steps. AmTrustCyber has a 24/7 response team ready to help our insureds defend against and recover from cyber threats to their business. If your business is the victim of a data breach and you're wondering how to respond, consider the following steps to help minimize the damage:

1. Contain the Cyber Breach

While you may be tempted to delete everything after a data breach occurs, preserving evidence is critical to assessing how the breach happened and who was responsible. The first step you should take after a data breach is to determine which servers have been compromised and contain them as quickly as possible to ensure that other servers or devices won't also be infected.

Here are a few immediate things you can do to attempt to contain a data breach.
  • Disconnect your internet
  • Disable remote access
  • Maintain your firewall settings
  • Install any pending security updates or patches
  • Change passwords

You should change all affected or vulnerable passwords immediately. Use a password manager and create new, strong passwords for each account, and refrain from reusing the same passwords on multiple accounts. That way, if a data breach happens again in the future, the damage may be limited.

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2. Assess the Data Breach

If you are one victim of a broader attack that's affected multiple businesses, follow updates from trusted sources charged with monitoring the situation to make sure you know what to do next. Whether you're part of a broader attack or the sole victim, you'll also need to determine the cause of the breach within your specific facility so you can work to help prevent the same kind of attack from happening again. Ask yourself:

  • Who has access to the servers that were infected?
  • Which network connections were active when the breach occurred?
  • How was the attack initiated?

You may be able to pinpoint how the breach was initiated by checking your security data logs through your firewall or email providers, your antivirus program, or your Intrusion Detection System. If you have difficulty determining the source and scope of the breach, consider hiring a qualified cyber investigator - it may be worth the investment to help protect yourself moving forward.

Identify those affected by the cyber breach

You'll also need to find out who may have been affected by the breach, including employees, customers, and third-party vendors. Assess how severe the data breach was by determining what information was accessed or targeted, such as birthdays, mailing addresses, email accounts and credit card numbers.

Educate your staff about data breach protocols

Your employees should be aware of your business's policies regarding data breaches. After discovering the cause of the breach, adjust and communicate your security protocols to help ensure the same type of incident doesn't occur again. Consider restricting your employees' access to data based on their job roles. You should also regularly train your employees about how to prepare for a data breach or avoid a data breach in the first place.

3. Create a Data Breach Notification Response Plan

Notify managers and employees of the breach

Communicate with your staff to let them know what happened. Define clear authorisations for team members to communication on the issue both internally and externally. Remaining on the same page with your team is crucial while your business is recovering from a data breach. You may need to consult with legal counsel to figure out the best way to let your customers know about the breach.

If you have cyber insurance, notify your carrier

Cyber insurance is designed to help you recover from a data breach or cyber attack. Contact your carrier as soon as possible to see how they can help assist you with what to do after a cyber attack. If you don't have a cyber liability insurance policy, AmTrust's appointed agents can assist you in the process of selecting cyber liability coverage that could help with costs associated with addressing future cyber incidents as well as identifying potential cyber exposures.

Notify customers

Emphasize your willingness to be transparent with your customers by considering a special action hotline specifically to address questions from affected individuals. Communication can be key to maintaining positive, professional relationships with your patrons.

A data breach can be stressful, but as long as you take the right steps, your business will be better prepared to recover successfully. Moving forward, conduct frequent security checks to help reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring again in the future.

How to Help Prevent a Cyber Breach

The FBI has provided the following additional tips that can help protect individuals and businesses from being victimized by cyber fraudsters:
  • Do not open attachments or click links within emails received from senders you do not recognize – if you do, report it to your IT department immediately so they can make sure malware not been activated and released.
  • Do not provide usernames, passwords, birth dates, social security numbers, financial data or other personal information in response to an email or phone call.
  • Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts. 

Ensure your businesses takes time to review and update information security policies, business continuity plans, and data breach response plans and regularly communicates with employees about them.

How to Report Cyber Crimes

If you discover you are the victim of a fraudulent incident:

  • Contact your IT/security department, if you have one
  • Immediately contact your financial institution to request a recall of funds
  • Contact your employer to report irregularities with payroll deposits
  • Report the attack to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). They’ll forward it to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement. Also, contact your credit card company. Tell them if you’re disputing unauthorized charges made by scammers on your card or if you suspect your card number was compromised.
  • If you or your organization is the victim of a network intrusion, data breach, or ransomware attack, contact your nearest FBI field office or report it at tips.fbi.gov.
  • You could also become a victim of identity (ID) theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to learn how to minimize your risk.
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Protect Your Business with Cyber Insurance from AmTrustCyber

AmTrust provides cyber insurance for small businesses to protect them in the event of a data breach or any type of cyber incident. For more information about cyber liability coverage, please contact us today. 


This material is for informational purposes only and is not legal or business advice. Neither AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates represents or warrants that the information contained herein is appropriate or suitable for any specific business or legal purpose. Readers seeking resolution of specific questions should consult their business and/or legal advisors. Coverages may vary by location. Contact your local RSM for more information.
 

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