Rebuilding Your Business Security After a Hack
You are not alone if you think that online cybercrime won’t happen to you. Maybe you are a small business or just have a handful of important clients, but believe us, it can happen to anyone. Hackers don’t discriminate and evidence suggests that these crimes are on the rise. The key to surviving an attack, however, is how quickly you respond and rebuild your company. This will have a huge bearing on whether or not you retain your client business; many of your clients will be more concerned with how you deal with an attack than the attack itself.
Your response to a cyber attack has to be two fold. Time must be spent rebuilding your systems, of course, but you also have to regain the trust of your customers, many of whom may well be high profile. You need to be able to communicate to them confidently that they can trust you moving forward and that you have been proactive in increasing your security and protection.
Here we offer some top tips on getting back on your feet if you find that you have been the victim of a hack.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Be Honest
This is absolutely paramount if you are to stand a chance of retaining your clients. You need to have a meeting with your staff, agree on the message to be presented and then convey it clearly, succinctly and as quickly as possible to everyone who is depending on your service. If you are only a small company, you may not have to worry about the media getting involved, but don’t discount the potential damage that social media can do. You don’t want to leave gaps for negative reviews; instead, react promptly and confidently so that any reviews can only talk about your positive response to the issue.
Communicate
If you have social media accounts, make sure you use them to your advantage and issue a statement explaining what happened and what strategy you are adopting to limit the damage. Keep your lines of communication open so that people can contact you if need be. Emailing customers personally is a good tactic too, as this demonstrates care and attention which is appreciated in today’s fast paced, often impersonal world of business.
Depending on your line of work you may have clients from different demographics so social media may not always be the best avenue for conveying messages. Don’t be afraid to print letters or produce newsletters to maintain communication. Your audience must be considered and you need to deal with individuals in the appropriate way; phone calls, texts, letters or social media - you decide what suits.
Give the customer control
By acting promptly and being open from the get go, you reduce the risk of your customers feeling vulnerable. Let them know about the security measures you have put in place and if you have employed our expert team to take care of your data protection, you will make them feel even more at ease. Bear in mind too that when news of a hack gets out competitors may try to swoop in and win over your customers. Be ready for this, be prepared and be confident that your business can rise to the challenge.
Think about offering discounts and upgrades to loyal clients and show them how much you value their trust in you.
GET YOUR SYSTEMS PROTECTED
Improve Security
At this point you really have to up your security and no longer rely on basic services that you perhaps once thought would be enough for your company. While choosing the basic option may have been a budget decision in the beginning, once your business grows, you need to be more vigilant. After all, you may well be looking after clients’ credit card information, bank details, email addresses and other personal information that hackers are determined to get hold of.
This is where we can help. Our expertise lies in protecting data and keeping hackers at arms length.
Get A Security Consultant
Cyber attacks are a part of life in the world of technology but instead of living in fear of them, you must be proactive and plan. Get the tools in place to keep your systems secure and if you are not confident in doing that, consider hiring us to do it for you. Our expert consultants are experienced in setting up systems that stay one step ahead of the hackers. We install software to encrypt data and are on hand to manage your computer network, keeping all of your valued clients’ data safe and protected.
We understand that small business owners are often very busy running the day to day life of their company and few have the knowledge or the inclination to manage internet security. This is why we have made it our business to look after the systems of companies like yours and offer peace of mind when it comes to that ever increasing threat of hacking.
