What to Do if Your Business Experiences Data Loss

Data loss or a data breach is something an increasing number of businesses have to deal with nowadays. While in some cases they could’ve been prevented, in others, factors out of their control might be at their root. In either case, it’s the business who’s going to be responsible for retrieving the data, figuring out the extent of the breach or loss, and sometimes facing legal repercussions. If you’re currently dealing with data loss, here are the first steps you should take.

Find Where the Breach is Originating From

You should first work to find what the breach’s source is and close it as soon as possible to prevent any more data from leaking. The longer the wait, the worse the consequences. This is one of the reasons your security software should always be up to date and should always have a good data recovery service on hand in case something happens. Companies like Security Data Recovery, for instance, will not only help you find what, or who, may be responsible for the breach, but they could also help you retrieve information that was maliciously erased.

Get Your Business Back on Track

You can’t afford to stop everything because there was a major breach or attack. If your employees can’t use critical software, or your website is offline, then you have to find a way to get everything back to normal as soon as possible. Some IT services offer what is called business continuity. They will be able to make sure that you can perform basic functions while they deal with major underlying issues. They will then be able to put a system in place to reduce the amount of disruption in the case of another incident.

Inform Your Customers

One of the top pieces of information that attackers will steal from servers will usually be anything relating to personal customer and credit card information. While having to contact your customers to let them know that their credit card information might have been stolen is never fun, it’s always better than getting sued because their account has been charged for a few thousand dollars. So, make sure that you let them know as soon as possible and also be honest about the extent of the breach. And don’t forget to give them instructions to make sure that their accounts remain safe.

Audit Your Business’s Security

Now that everything is back to normal, and you’ve hopefully been able to avoid any serious consequences, you now have to work on making sure that never happens again. If your website was at cause here, then it may be time to look for another hosting solution, or consider updating your site. If you don’t take action immediately and learn from these mistakes, then history will repeat itself and attackers will take advantage of the same vulnerabilities.

If you manage to follow these few tips, you may be able to limit the damage caused by a breach. Always make sure that you find the root cause first and foremost, and work with the proper team to limit the extent of the loss and safeguard your system against future incidents.