When your hired IT support Portland company failed to protect your network and system and cyber criminals are able to breach your network and cause chaos to your system, then you need to make sure that you take the necessary steps in order to set things in order.
Fire your existing IT support
The first thing you need to do as the company owner is to fire your current IT support company. This is definitely not an easy decision, especially if you have a contract with the IT company. However, you cannot continue to work with an IT service provider that failed to safeguard your business against black hat hackers. You simply cannot trust them to not make the same mistake again, so go over your contract and look for a loophole, especial one that involves the termination of contract due to the failure to do their job, and a successful cyber attack certainly qualifies as a failure to perform their duties as IT support Portland.
Hire a new capable IT support
After you let go of the incompetent IT service company, you must find the best IT support company in the country and hire them in their place. After the fiasco of the cyber attack, you need a competent IT service company that is comprised of IT professional who are more than capable of preventing black hat hackers from hacking your company network and system. Hiring the best may cost you a lot, but you need to keep in mind that when you hired a budget-friendly IT support, your company faced a loss from cyber criminals that is way more than what you have to invest in your new reliable IT support. So do not overthink things regarding the cost. You need to focus on getting back on your feet, and you can only do that with a highly skilled IT support Portland company by your side.
Change all your passwords
Once you have a new IT support, you would surely be advised to change all your passwords to your data storage, emails, company website, company social media accounts, and all other entries in your company platform that requires a password. Make the passwords more secure this time, and make sure that every single employee in your company knows never to save their passwords online. Allow your new IT support to assist your employees with the change of password, and make time for an awareness program regarding cybersecurity company wide.
Upgrade your firewall and anti-virus
A company that has been through a lot during a cyber attack needs to recover their wits. And with the superior assistance of your new IT support, your company can accomplish the upgrade of anti-virus systems and firewall on all your devices and software. It is crucial to update everything in order to build a new wall of protection that will prevent cyber hackers to penetrate the network and system again. With your new IT support Portland company by your side, you gain a huge advantage now with black hat hackers. Most of the time, it takes the most reliable and skilled IT support to have the leverage to win against cyber criminals.
Clear cache and cookies in all devices
After a cyber attack, your new IT support will clear all your cache and cookies in all your company computers, tablets, laptops, and mobile devices. There needs to be a fresh start, and your IT support will erase all remnants of the cyber attacks, and so they will clean your network and system, as well as all your hardware. There must be traces of the cyber attack left on your network and systems in order to start new with a clean slate.
Warn affected individuals or companies about the hack
Your business involves customers, since the only way you can actually earn from having a company is to sell your products and services to your target market. And so when your network and system are compromised, it is not enough that you allow your new IT support Portland company to clean up the mess left by the black hat hackers. You also need to make amends with your customers. Give your sincere apology to your affected customers, and ask for their forgiveness. You need to practice humility in times like this because the impacted people actually have grounds to sue your company because their personal information is compromised.
There needs to be accountability on your business side for your customers whose data is exploited by cyber criminals. They have the right to know what happened to your company, so they can be prepared for what comes next. You simply cannot leave your customers in the dark after a cyber attack, especially if you know that their personal data, including their debit and credit card information. Once your valued customers know that they could be facing cyber threats, or worst, identity theft or credit card theft, then they can ask guidance from their chosen IT support Portland regarding what to do in order to stop cyber hackers from using their stolen data and compromise the cyber security of your customers.
Get legal advice from a competent lawyer If your network and system are unfortunately hacked by cyber criminals, you need to seek legal advice from your company lawyer or outside lawyers. There are many legal actions that can be taken against you by your customers, so you need to be prepared. Also, you can find and sue the black hat hackers who compromised your whole company. Whatever the reason and outcome is from the cyber attack, you need legal advice as to how to proceed. You cannot afford a bunch of lawsuits from your customers who are affected by the cyber attack, so better be ready to offer something to your customers to avoid lawsuits. Most of all, make sure that your new IT support Portland company is involved in the legal matters
