Your business has been hacked. Your IT team just broke the bad news. They do not know how or why but all the signs point to some form of intrusion. This is definitely bad news. Cyber criminals target small and medium businesses more and more, stealing passwords and even tricking people into sending them money. The worst is when the hackers manage to install ransom ware and all your critical data has been encrypted. If you or your business is a victim of a cyber crime, here is what you should do next:
Investigate
You need a full picture of what happened. This can involve costly security consultants and forensic teams. These security teams will find out what happened, how the hackers got in and how to clean your systems. If the costs of such an operation are beyond your means, contact your local law enforcement or FBI office.
Legal advice
The next step is to get legal advice. When your business systems have been compromised, you probably have an obligation to inform your clients and employees. There are laws that your business will need to comply with, and a lawyer will help navigate the process.
Clean up
Lastly, with the help of your forensic and IT teams, clean out the infected computers and run an audit to ensure that none of the remaining systems have any signs of infection. Get back to business once there are mitigations in place to prevent a similar incident in the future.