Whether you run or work for a business, or do your business at home, you are going to want to make sure that you are as protected as possible from any and all forms of cyberattacks. You might think that it is really rare that you’d actually become the victim of an attack, but it is actually quite possible.
Believe it or not, one American falls victim to a cyberattack every 39 seconds. That alone should give you a decent idea about just how truly possible this horrible even really is. For that reason, you have to know what to do in order to protect yourself and you also have to have a security event and incident management plan so that if it does happen, you will be prepared. Let’s get started.
Developing a plan
Develop a security plan and supporting policies so that anyone within your company knows the steps and knows who to contact for necessary guidance when an attack is detected. In fact, you should have a checklist put in place that is ready for anyone to access in the event of an attack. Beyond that, make sure that the security incident management plan is being constantly upgraded and updated if any changes to your cybersecurity strategy are made.
Have a team ready to go
As they say, a good defense is a good offense and that is absolutely true in the case of mitigating the damage of a cyberattack. For that reason, it is important to either have a group of in-house IT experts and cybersecurity wizzes who can help you in your time of need or an out of house group who can do the same tasks.When working out of house, ensure the group has completed cyber security leadership training.It is similarly important that everyone who works for your company knows exactly who to call and how to reach them in the event of an incident.
When a cyberattack is identified, time is absolute of the essence so you do not want to worry about whether or not your employees know who they need to contact at this very important time.
Post-incident analysis
If an attack has occurred, you are going to want to assess the damage and figure out what you can learn from the mistakes that were made. Performing a post-incident analysis with professionals who know precisely what to look for is key to making sure that you will be better prepared the next time. Learning from your failures and successes as a crucial aspect of many kinds of business, and the same can absolutely be said for cybersecurity.
The reason why collecting information is so crucial is because it offers insight into the following factors:
- The ability to employ forensics as needed for analysis, reporting and investigation
- Gather evidence so that you can use it in court if necessary
- Identifying team members who are experienced with information gathering and analysis
Overall, a cyberattack is a horrible thing to go through. However, having a plan in place for how to deal with it can make a major difference in helping you rebound as quickly as possible.