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When a business computer network is hacked or falls prey to malware, most business owners or managers intuitively recognize they need to do something. However, many of the businesses that contact RB’s Computer Service don’t know what they should do. While RB’s Computer Service is always ready to jump into service to help, there are several steps that a business owner or manager should take immediately after a hack. The first thing to do is immediately suspend your workday. Next, implement your incident response plan (IRP). The challenge for many small business owners is they are too small to employ a part-time or full-time dedicated IT professional. As a result, they don’t have an IRP and haven’t mapped out what suspending operations would look like. In this month’s blog, we’ll take a look at what goes into an IRP, and some of the other steps a business owner or manager needs to take when they are hacked or become a victim of malware.

What’s in an incident response plan (IRP)?

The IRP should clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of key personnel, steps for containing the breach, communication protocols (both internal and external), and procedures for post-incident analysis and recovery. Making decisions while under fire is difficult. An IRP serves as a guide to help sidestep high-pressure mistakes.

The IRP should be customized to your business, well-researched, in writing, and practiced beforehand. Ideally, your business should conduct practice incidents with key stakeholders, i.e. your office manager, business owner, salesperson(s), HR person, personnel, bookkeeper(s), etc. This ensures everyone knows their roles and can work together effectively when a breach occurs.

While IRPs are customized to each business, some common elements include a written plan to detect and identify the source of the hack and contain and eradicate it.

If you need help crafting your IRP plan, don’t hesitate to contact RB’s Computer Service today at 763-441-3884 or email us at help@rbsmn.com.

Contact External Team Members

If you don’t have an IRP, don’t hesitate to contact RB’s Computer Service. We’ll help you mitigate, create, and implement an action plan. If you have employees working out of the office, or they are on vacation, call or text them immediately after you uncover a hack. Let them know about the hack and instruct them to stay off the network.

Appropriately Notify Your Customers

“Appropriately notify” means different things to different people. This is another reason why an IRP is critical. The IRP ensures you have your notification spelled out in advance to avoid delay and legal ramifications. Consult your lawyer about the other parties you must notify after a breach. According to the FTC, all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands require notification of security breaches that involve personal information. However, the timeframe varies by state and the nature of the data breach. There is no federal law that mandates a specific timeframe for all businesses, but many states have enacted their own data breach notification laws. Some states require that businesses notify affected individuals "without unreasonable delay," with some specifying a timeframe of 30 to 60 days. For healthcare organizations subject to federal regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), affected individuals must be notified within 60 days of discovering a data breach. Lastly, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises that businesses take steps to notify consumers promptly if their personal information has been compromised, although it does not set specific timeframes.

When Hacked, Don’t Panic

Not all hacks are created equal. Some exploit flaws in publicly available software. Many of these are already known with demonstrated strategies to mitigate. Ransomware on the other is another thing entirely. If you don’t know what you are dealing with, the best thing is to contact a professional like RB’s Computer Service. The important thing is to act right away and don’t panic.

Bottom Line

For businesses without an in-house IT professional or an IRP, if your network is hacked, you’ll need help from a professional like RB’s Computer Service. We are eager to jump in and help. We are experts in mitigating data breaches and can help you formulate a plan to notify affected individuals. Plus, we can help prevent a future data breach. In addition to network security, we can help ensure your data is backed up, and we offer Managed IT Service Agreements to monitor your network. Don’t hesitate to contact RB’s Computer Service today at 763-441-3884 or email us at help@rbsmn.com.