So you think your computer or network security has been breached. What next?
Your computer support staff may have brought this to your attention already, but if not you need to make them aware as quickly as possible. Avoid the obvious urge to wipe the hard drives and start over! You need to preserve the compromised computers or servers for a forensic analysis. This is work that is best performed by a qualified computer security or forensics professional.
Signs that you may have sustained an attack:
- Viruses, spyware, malware, and Trojan horses appear on your computer.
- Clicking on a link on a SPAM or phishing email could send you to an infected web site or trick you into revealing personal or financial information or login credentials.
- Unusual charges on your credit cards, bank accounts, or changes to your credit report could indicate identity theft.
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) maintains an incident reporting system for computer security incidents. There are additional suggestions on the StaySafeOnline.org web site.
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About the Author:
I am a cybersecurity and IT instructor, cybersecurity analyst, pen-tester, trainer, and speaker. I am an owner of the WyzCo Group Inc. In addition to consulting on security products and services, I also conduct security audits, compliance audits, vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. I also teach Cybersecurity Awareness Training classes. I work as an information technology and cybersecurity instructor for several training and certification organizations. I have worked in corporate, military, government, and workforce development training environments I am a frequent speaker at professional conferences such as the Minnesota Bloggers Conference, Secure360 Security Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, the (ISC)2 World Congress 2016, and the ISSA International Conference 2017, and many local community organizations, including Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and several school districts. I have been blogging on cybersecurity since 2006 at http://wyzguyscybersecurity.com