Cyber attacks don’t always have to be huge like they show in movies and it does not necessarily need to have a revenge plot. Many cyber criminals send out thousands of malware phishing links. They are waiting for people to fall victim to these links so that they can access their data or get reward money for it.
Even if you run a small business, there is always a risk of falling victim to a cyber attack. It also depends upon your industry, as hackers target healthcare sectors more compared to other industries.
You need to be prepared on how to tackle the issue but before you should know how to identify a cyber attack.
Hacked Email Account
If your business email address is hacked, sometimes you may not notice until it gets worse. Here are some signs that your email address is hacked:
- The password of the email has been changed.
- Your email contacts inform you that they have received strange emails from your account.
- You see unusual inbox activity like sending messages that you didn’t send.
Hackers usually use phishing emails, and password hack methods to get an email account hacked.
Compromised System Account Details
If you notice that your computer system has slowed down, you may think that it’s just acting up for a moment. But if you look closely, it might be a cyber attack, and getting rid of it in the initial stage should be your focus.
Here are some signs that indicate your system account details are being hacked:
- You can no longer access your account.
- The computer speed keeps slowing down significantly.
- The browser add-on constantly appears on the screen.
- Your computer randomly shuts down and restarts.
- The software security is suddenly disabled.
In this case, you need to take immediate action and consider a digital forensic incident response strategy to deal with a cybersecurity breach.
Infiltrated Online Storage Account
Your business data is just like your assets and you need to protect it and back up as much as possible. Like many business owners, you might use online storage options like Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, etc. But with online storage options, you might fall victim to cyber security and get your storage system hacked.
Below are some signs to help you recognize it:
- You can no longer access your account and it has some content that shouldn’t be there.
- Some files are missing from the online storage and there is unusual network traffic.
- Your contacts are receiving emails with file links to open.
The hacker might have used social engineering cyber attack or phishing to get into your system.
Accessed Social Media Account
For business marketing, social media is an important part. If you lose the accounts that you worked hard on for days, then it’s like a loss for the company.
Social media account hacks are more common now and here is how you can identify one to protect your account:
- There have been changes to your followers on the account.
- You notice contact requests that you didn’t make.
- Some posts have been deleted and the password has changed.
- New posts that aren’t yours.
To avoid getting any of your account or system details hacked, it is important to take preventive security measures like getting VPN software.