What to do after a data breach: 7 CSAM tips for IT teams
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What to do after a data breach: 7 CSAM tips for IT teams

ByTeam Virima

Table of Contents

After a data breach, taking quick and effective action is essential to secure your computers and prevent further damage. Cybersecurity asset management (CSAM) tools can help you do this by tracking and managing your assets and providing vulnerability assessments and real-time incident response. This is essential as it enables you to ensure that such incidents never happen again, and if they do, they minimize damage. 

As most cybersecurity solutions focus on what to do to prevent breaches, the question remains: what do you do if a breach occurs?

Here are seven things you need to do to secure your assets after a data breach:

1. Alert your incident response team to prevent further data loss

When a data breach is identified, it is essential to take quick and proactive action to alert all relevant stakeholders and prevent further data loss. To do so seamlessly and efficiently, you need automated systems that recognize and report breaches. This is where a CSAM tool can be of help. 

Using this software, your incident response team can automate follow-up actions such as data quarantine, data recovery, and more. This helps ensure that important data is secured quickly and that further security measures are activated for upcoming threats.

When it comes to cybersecurity, the key is to be proactive. Such tools help you detect weaknesses and vulnerabilities in your network before a breach occurs, allowing you to take preventive actions. By conducting regular vulnerability scans, security patch assessments, and real-time monitoring of suspicious activities on the network, you can reduce the risk of a data breach occurring in the future and secure your data more efficiently.

To prevent further damage after a data breach, it is crucial to develop an effective incident response plan that outlines specific steps to be taken should a similar event occur.

2. Notify affected parties and provide instructions on how to prevent future breaches

In the unfortunate event of a data breach, it is essential to immediately notify affected parties, such as internal employees and customers. It is also important to provide instructions on potential steps they can take to help secure their data and prevent future data breaches.

One option is to utilize asset management tools to identify security vulnerabilities within a system or network and alert users of potential data threats before they occur. By pinpointing gaps in data protection plans, these asset management tools can drastically reduce the risk and potential damage of a data breach. 

After taking the necessary steps to prevent further data loss, you can focus on implementing measures that will help protect your data in the future. These tools provide an extra layer of defense and visibility into potential threats, helping you be prepared.

For instance, once you identify a possible breach, intimate relevant employees and customers and let them know that a breach has occurred and that your team is working on it. It increases their confidence in your actions and lets them know they need to analyze their network. After that, once you identify the root cause, send them another email with instructions to contain the existing breach (if required) and how to protect their systems from further issues.

3. Change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication whenever possible

One of the most critical steps is immediately changing all passwords associated with your data and accounts. If cybercriminals have already infiltrated your system, then taking this action can help prevent further harm from being done. 

CSAM is the ideal way to secure your data and accounts after a breach. They provide an extra layer of vigilance and can identify weak links in your security that other methods may not detect. These tools also reduce the chances of data breaches occurring in the future by monitoring activities related to data and ensuring all your data is as secure as possible.

In addition, you also need to add another layer of protection as part of a multi-pronged security strategy. You can use the two-factor authentication method to achieve that. This method provides additional information on top of your passwords, like a code sent to another device or biometric data such as fingerprints. 

You can be assured that data breaches will not happen again due to stolen passwords or other data theft. It also ensures that only authorized personnel can access confidential assets and their data.

4. Classify sensitive assets vis folders and implement asset-specific security protocols

When data breaches occur, the last thing you want is to be unsure of which computers are at risk and how to protect them. You can use a cybersecurity asset management tool to ensure that your computers and data are secure by allowing you to classify sensitive assets into folders and implement asset-specific security protocols. Plus, you can find assets that do not comply with these security protocols and create an action plan to resolve that discrepancy.

Through this practice, data stays safe regardless of where it is located or who has access to it. Being proactive in protecting data after a data breach can help prevent future incidents—using asset management tools for such data protection could save your organization time, money, and potential embarrassment.

For example, when you comply with HIPAA regulations, you must protect assets that store vital medical records like patient files, scan reports, prognosis reports, and more. You can categorize these assets and verify whether the specification of this regulation protects them.

5. Keep your operating system and software up to date or install pending updates

Ensuring your computer’s operating system and software are up-to-date is essential for data security. With data breaches rising, an effective and efficient asset management plan can protect you better from these malicious attacks. 

With the proper implementation of asset management tools, companies can easily track which assets (hardware and software) require an update to ensure they remain up-to-date with the latest security and compliance regulations. By keeping a record of all their licenses, businesses can monitor when new license purchases are needed, when existing licenses need renewal, or if security updates are available.

Installing any pending updates is especially important, as these patches and upgrades will address any vulnerabilities discovered within the system. Having defense mechanisms such as data encryption and spam filters are also ways to safeguard your data. Through a combination of cybersecurity tools, tools designed to keep your systems updated, and preventive efforts, you can be confident that you are doing all you can to protect your data from potential data breaches.

6. Use cybersecurity asset management tools to run a vulnerability assessment and secure all your assets

It is best to run a vulnerability assessment after you have resolved the breach so that you know that your infrastructure is in good shape. You can do this via an asset management tool and analyze any security gaps in your infrastructure. Once you do, flag them and resolve them quickly to prevent further damage to your systems and reputation.

Cybersecurity asset management tools allow you to quickly and accurately catalog all the assets in your network, run vulnerability assessments, and detect any weaknesses in your security architecture whenever you want to do that. Full awareness of all your assets allows you to patch any possible vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them.

Additionally, once you undergo a breach, keeping a log or record of who had access to the breached data ensures the safety and security of your data. By doing so, you can identify any suspicious activity that could lead to potential breaches in the future and take measures to protect against them. 

When logging who had access, make sure not only to document their names and roles but also when they accessed the system, what action was taken on it, and if any changes were made. Keeping an accurate record of who had access allows you to stay ahead of potential risks before a breach occurs. Ultimately, you can secure your device after a breach and prevent any issues in the future.

7. Train your employees on digital security protocols and best practices

Training your employees on digital security protocols and best practices is a crucial first step to ensuring data safety after a data breach. Employee understanding of security policies, data flow, data ownership, and other key information allows proactive solutions to be applied quickly and efficiently. 

Regular training will help to keep everyone informed and ready to respond appropriately when a potential data breach occurs. Cybersecurity asset management tools can provide real-time monitoring and automated notification so your team can be more proactive in data security. Here are a few steps you should consider before creating the training program:

  • Develop a comprehensive security training program that includes phishing, password security, and data protection topics.
  • Ensure all employees understand the company’s policies regarding acceptable use of the Internet and other technology systems.
  • Provide detailed examples of how to recognize risks and potentially malicious activities.
  • Teach employees what to do in the event of a security breach or suspicious activity.
  • Instruct employees on protecting information stored in laptops, phones, and tablets from theft or unauthorized access. 
  • Show them how to store data on external devices like USB drives securely. 
  • Educate staff about properly disposing of confidential documents, emails, and other sensitive material.
  • Explain which websites or software applications are not allowed for downloading due to potentially malicious content. 
  • Demonstrate how to use two-factor authentication when accessing company accounts or systems remotely. 
  • Encourage employees to report any suspicious activities they may encounter while using company resources such as email, file storage, etc.
  • Show them what notifications from CSAM systems look like and train them on notifying relevant stakeholders.

Simplify the incident management process using Virima

In conclusion, a data breach can be a costly and time-consuming experience. However, following the right steps with the help of cybersecurity asset management tools can help prevent serious damage to your organization. One such measure would be to employ an asset management tool.

You can do this via Virima’s IT asset management (ITAM) tool. It helps you maintain an accurate asset inventory of all your IT assets. It means that in the event of a breach, you can catalog all your assets and run a vulnerability assessment to identify the weak points in your IT infrastructure. 

Plus, after that, it will show you the status of each asset and which part of the lifecycle it lies in—giving you an accurate overview of what you need, what needs updating, and what can be discarded. It tightens up your infrastructure, preventing additional cybersecurity risks in the future.

With Virima’s cybersecurity capabilities, you can access intelligent automation that will reduce administrative time so you can focus on what’s important—protecting yourself from future vulnerabilities. 

Book a demo with Virima now, and we will show you our product suite can help you monitor your networks for cyber threats.

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