Has your small business been hacked? 5 things you need to do immediately

Finding your business has been hacked can spell disaster for small businesses. Phil Parisis, General Manager of Product & Sales at My Business, shares five things to do immediately if you discover you’ve fallen victim to a cyber attack.

Reading the headlines at the moment, it seems like every week, there’s another large Australian company announcing it has fallen victim to a cyber attack. Instead of ignoring the front page, these cases should serve as a timely wake-up call for small businesses too.

For many small business owners, dealing with cyber security may seem like an unnecessary expense or not a priority. There’s often an attitude of ‘I’m only small, why would a criminal target me?’ But the truth is, cyber sharks hunt from the large prey down, and often small and medium-sized businesses are caught up in the fallout.

Complacency is the biggest threat when it comes to cyber security, and having an ‘it won’t happen to me’ mentality is now being seen as a gross act of negligence.

If you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of being compromised with a cyber breach, there are practical steps you need to take immediately

5 steps to take following a cyber attack

1. Lock down systems

This needs to be a priority. Change all your passwords straight away.

The first thing that usually gets hacked is your email, and for many small business owners, they’re often using the same password for their email as other accounts. Change your passwords on all of them – email, social media accounts, financial systems, and also on your personal email too.

Don’t forget in-house hardware. Your router and modem could all be compromised, and you need to change those passwords as well.

2. Contact providers

It’s important to document that you’ve been hacked. Contact your providers, especially your bank, to let the fraud department know you’ve been compromised. They have specialist departments who can help you and make sure the breach goes on the record.

Make sure you contact providers of your personal accounts too, and ask your employees to do the same.

3. Reach out for help

Your first point of call should be the Australian Cyber Security Centre, where you can report the hack and start an investigation. Often hacks are not random, and you may find you’re part of a targeted attack on a particular industry.

You should also consider lodging a police report in case you suffer a future financial loss. It’s a good safeguard for insurance purposes, and also to get your bank to take action in the event you lose money.

4. Damage control

Many small business owners are embarrassed and feel responsible when they’re hit by a cyber attack, particularly if it’s a data breach involving customers.

Whilst you don’t have to inform customers if you’re making less than $2 million a year, my advice is that you do. With all the recent hacks involving much larger organisations, it’s no longer a taboo topic and your clients will appreciate your honesty and transparency. Send them an email explaining that you’ve suffered a cyber breach, you’re working to ascertain the extent of the damage, and asking them to stay vigilant and change their passwords as well. Make sure you give them a contact point for any questions and tell them you’ll keep them in the loop with any developments.

The best small businesses are the ones that treat their customers like family and let them know what’s going on.

5. Prevention

Like anything, the best way to mitigate the damage from a cyber attack is to stop it from happening in the first place. Your staff are your best asset when it comes to this. You need to train them to act like a human firewall. Ensuring your staff have up-to-date training doesn’t have to be a costly exercise either, for example here at My Business, we offer monthly cyber staff awareness training and phishing simulations for as little as $10 a month.

Make sure you have a physical document (not on the computer, but actually printed out and stuck up in the office) that outlines contact numbers for technical support and system providers in the event your business is compromised. Ensure your staff know where to find this document and make it clear whom they need to reach out to and in what order, if a cyber attack should happen.

If you look at the current statistics, chances are every small business in Australia is likely to be affected by a cyber breach at some stage of their journey. It’s scary, but how you respond and what you do to mitigate your risk is vital.

Ensuring your business is protected is also strengthening the cyber resilience of other small businesses around you, and it’s only by working together and being vigilant that we’ve got any chance against these cyber criminals.

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