In today’s modern, connected world, the risks posed by cybercrime are a real and present danger that face companies of all sizes – in particular, Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Sadly, it remains the case that many small business owners simply overlook cyber security as part of their operations, leaving them wide open to attacks. 

The Shocking SME Cyberattack Stats

Recent figures indicate that, through 2021, around 61% of SMEs were subject to a security breach, while almost two-thirds of those smaller firms go bust within six months of an attack. The money involved in online breaches is staggering, making cybercrime now the world’s third-largest economy behind the US and China (taken on a like-for-like basis).

Prevention Will Always Be the Best Cure

Rather than taking chances with your firm’s vital data, you should take preventative measures to mitigate the risks in the first place. Partnering with a specialist IT cloud provider will give you the greatest protection against potential security breaches in the future. A Managed Service Provider will provide 24/7/365 support and protection provided by expert IT specialists. 

You should also have a response plan in place should the worst happen and you suffer an attack. This can then be applied retrospectively to help you recover from an attack. Important considerations include planning how to stop an attack and limiting access to potential private data. 

However, what should you do if you have already fallen victim to an attack? Below are just a few tips.

Define the Extent of the Breach

Before you even begin trying to think about recovering from an attack, you’ll first need to define exactly what happened and what you need to do to reinstate your network and/or data. Depending on your level of in-house IT support, you will also need to work out if you’ll need to bring in external help. Some basic issues you’ll need to define include:

  • Have the company’s IT systems been affected and, if so, how many and to what extent?
  • Have you lost company data and, if so, work out which types of data and their relative sensitivity?
  • In line with the above point, you should quickly check if the breached data was encrypted
  • You should also check which users have been affected (both internal and external)

Remember Your Responsibilities 

Depending on the size of your company, where you operate, and the severity of the breach, you may have a duty to inform the affected parties. Plus, you should also contact your regulatory authority within 72 hours. 

For example, if your firm holds data on EU citizens, the GDPR states you must send details of the attack, what data may have been compromised and who has likely been affected, to the parties involved (all within that same 72-hour period). You should also provide information on what measures you’re taking to contain the attack and the possible impacts of the breach. 

Once you’ve taken the steps above, you’ll be in a much stronger position to move forward and start devising ways to stop similar incidents from happening in the future – plus, recovering data (which may involve working with a specialist data recovery service).