Data security is a serious issue faced by businesses across various industries. Hackers are constantly probing corporate networks, looking for vulnerabilities in the system so that they can gain access to sensitive information.
Every year, millions of sensitive data are reported to be exploited by cyber attackers. The security team needs to imbibe comprehensive cyber breach mitigation processes in order to reduce the risk associated with them.
What is Cyber Breach?
Cyber breach is different from cybersecurity attacks. A cyber breach is an incident in which a person’s name, social security number, medical records, financial records, driver’s license number, etc. are at risk due to public exposure. Basically, in such incidents, confidential information is stolen from the system.
Such breaches can prove to be detrimental for both individuals as well as businesses. Companies store a lot of personal information about their customers that can be exposed. Such incidents can result in loss of existing business, the trust of customers, lawsuits encompassing hefty fines, etc.
The direct and indirect loss of such security cases can account for millions of dollars. This is why companies need to have a proper cyber breach mitigation plan in place.
How to Prevent the Occurrence of Cyber Breach?
Encrypted storage, as well as multi-factor authentication, are the basic steps followed by cyber breach mitigation services to reinforce the security measures. Additionally, 24*7, real-time monitoring is imperative to prevent cyber breaches. Organizations can protect their systems from breaches if they are able to see their environment from all possible angles and at all the time.
This is why relying on cyber breach mitigation services is a good option. These service providers integrated automated tools and latest technologies to mitigate the chances of risks and boost the incident response. Moreover, the expertise of your security staff also plays an important role in the quality of your overall system.
Organizations should invest in regular training programs so that the employees are updated with the latest policies, security standards, and expectations.
Process of Cyber Breach Mitigation and Incident Response
In case of a breach, certain proactive measures can mitigate and contain the damage. The main focus should be to block the flow and additional loss of data by determining the vulnerabilities and fixing the same instantly. Following are the steps that will help in this process –
1. Set-Up an Expert Response Team
An organization should have a response team, including experts from legal, forensic, IT, operations, HR, communications, management, and investor relations departments. These teams will together deal with the aftermath of breach across different areas of the business.
2. Securing the Infrastructure
When stemming the loss, the team needs to secure the physical business area along with its systems. All the business equipment should be taken offline or if needed, replaced. Experts should monitor access to the logical and physical environment.
And, depending on the severity of the situation should be frozen. All the passwords and access codes for the users should be immediately updated.
3. Eliminate the Vulnerability
Forensic experts should assess the network segmentation and check who gained access to what by leveraging the data from SIEM logs and agents. This step may help you discover the root cause of the issue. Review whether or not proper procedures and technologies were in place and check out the access logs for any traces.
Additionally, vulnerabilities may arise from third-party providers as well. Therefore, it is important that you authenticate the data, systems, and applications that were compromised and determine the degree of damage. Contact the stakeholders to inform them of the breach and what necessary steps are being taken to recover.
4. Set-Up A Clear Communication Plan
When working on cyber breach mitigation, the importance of clear and transparent communication cannot be overlooked. Instead of covering up the breach, as many companies have done previously, take a transparent approach.
Include all the stakeholders in your mitigation plan that include investors, business partners, employees, and customers. Inform them about the incident without giving away too much information. Moreover, report the breach to law enforcement and adhere to the relevant state and federal guidelines.
The cyber breach mitigation process is not about covering the incident; instead, it is centered around taking a responsible approach to mitigate the damage caused by the attack.
