Security breaches are a constant threat to businesses, no matter how extensive the attack. Even the seemingly-smallest cyber-attack can cost thousands of pounds and days of company downtime to rectify. Of course, any attack can be far easier to prevent than to overcome, but there are also ways to take action if preventive measures aren’t yet in place.

Give Employees The Security Tools They Need

Many significant attacks begin with a small incident such as an employee who clicked a malicious link in an email. To prevent this, it’s important that all employees are educated about how to identify phishing emails and fake websites. No messages should be accepted unless the source is both known and trusted.

If your company has already experienced this kind of incident, all files associated with it should be identified and deleted, and the involved computer disconnected from the network and checked for any file traces. Any malware should be removed and complete removal confirmed before network reconnection occurs.

Prevent Information Leaks

Once inside a system, hackers can start gathering information with any number of tools, including key logging software.  This can be prevented by updating virus definitions and versions of security software for every machine on the network.

In the event that key logging software has already been detected, the immediate reset of all passwords – even those which are considered to be secure – is the easiest way to thwart this kind of attack.

Set Access Permissions

It only takes a handful of passwords to get a hacker into areas where your company’s sensitive data lives. However, setting access permissions for all company employees will prevent unscrupulous individuals getting too far. This method can be used as a means of distraction whilst all network passwords are in the process of being changed.

Real-Time Reporting, Off-Site Data Storage

Data only belongs to a hacker once they’ve obtained access to all of a company’s servers. However, you can prevent your data from being stolen or completely wiped by making use of real-time reporting tools which notify you of suspicious activity when it occurs. If you already have these kinds of tools in place and receive this kind of alert, immediate disconnection of all machines from the network should be your first defence.

Your data should be backed up on a regular basis and one or more copies stored off-site. This will allow you to continue business operations in the event that your servers are infiltrated and wiped by hackers.

What To Do With Compromised Or Old Drives & Devices

Sometimes it isn’t possible to completely erase viruses and malware. Or, it may be that you simply don’t want existing data on a device or drive to be vulnerable. In these cases, a company like Absolute IT can offer several solutions.

We use a fully certified and approved data erasure tool called Blancco to safely and completely remove data from client devices. Our data erasure lab allows us to wipe any form of media from hard drives, desktop and laptop computers, mobile phones, servers and USB drives. 

If you are in the process of removing compromised media from your establishment, but are not yet ready to dispose of it, the information contained within can be placed at significant risk unless it is securely stored. 

For more information about our services, please call us on 01332 371 989.