Cyberattacks can occur anytime, and if you’re not running high-end security and protection measures on your devices, it can lead to devastating consequences. But that’s something you have to administer beforehand.
The question is what should you be doing when an attack has occurred or is currently happening? Corporate internet does have significant approaches and measures since they need to protect their data and services from the attack.
However, if an attack has been initiated on your home network, you’re in quite jeopardy. That’s why we’ve prepared a list of actions that you can run when you’re facing such a situation. Let’s check them out now:
Contacting Support Services
Amongst the remedies, the first thing you can do is report an attack to your internet provider. It’s to ensure that the ISP itself takes precautions so that the attack doesn’t escalate further. In addition, the support can help take the right actions that can help mitigate the attack or reduce the damage.
For instance, Xfinity customer service already uses high-end preventive measures so that its clients remain safe from such attacks. Since they’re readily available, you can reach out and let them know if you’re facing such an issue, and it’ll be resolved, or more importantly, handled with precautions.
Disconnecting the Internet
Before you even contact customer services, it’s important to disconnect your internet in case you’re aware that a cyberattack is currently in execution. One of the ways that a cyberattack initiates is via the internet.
Even though there’s no guarantee that the attack will cease, still, disconnecting the internet will help mitigate the instance. The reason why there’s no guarantee is because of the type of attack.
The greater the severity of the attack, the greater the threat and the little the impact of precautions and preventive measures. However, it also helps mitigate the spread of the attack to other connected devices.
Disabling Remote Access
Another fix or preventive measure that you can take is to disable remote access. Though it’ll be disabled when you’ll be disconnecting the internet, still, it’s important that you disable the function completely.
That way, the attacker cannot access your device remotely, which is highly possible since access to your device means that the attacker will turn on the internet. Or in most cases, the attacker will use malware that will disable your firewall while keeping the internet connection on.
That is why we recommended that you disconnect the internet on the top priority of the fixes since it’ll mitigate the malware to spread and continue its function.
Checking on your Data
If a breached has in fact occurred, then it’s time to check on your data. The primary target of every cyberattack is to damage or steal the data of the victim. Even if you’re not a corporate identity, the attacker will initiate the attack to steal your information and use it for ransom (ransomware is a classic example).
In other cases, a phishing attack will be initiated which will steal your data to be used for identity theft later. That is why you need to assess whether your data has been accessed by unauthorized users or not.
The first contact should be your financial companies since the attacker will go after your banking accounts. In case the data has been stolen or corrupted, ensure to get your account blocked. You can later use a backup to restore whatever you can, but only once you’re clear of the attack.
Monitoring Activities
Sometimes that attacker only initiates the attack, which is then paused to see how the victim is acting. In such cases, you should ensure that the device doesn’t have access to other nodes in the network so that other devices don’t get affected.
In addition, ensure to monitor the activity on your device. This will make it easier whether the attack is still in place or not. In most cases, the attacker plants spyware so that the device’s activity can be monitored.
Only restore backups and reconnect to the primary internet connection when you’re absolutely sure that the attack has ceased or remedies have been applied. You should also check on your device’s firewall and security software to see if they’re enabled or disabled again.
Changing Credentials
Once you’re clear of the attack, it’s time to run some precautionary measures. Kick things off by enabling firewalls, strengthening the security system, and running a complete scan of your device multiple times.
Make sure that the security system you’re using has adequate tools for scanning for different malware, particularly spyware. In addition, change credentials for everything since a breach means that the attacker already has them and can access the accounts whenever he wants.
You need to set strengthened passwords and add multi-factor authentication so that any attempt at cracking your password will trigger an alert for you. In addition, ensure that you’re using parental controls so that your children don’t access malicious websites in any manner.
Closing Thoughts
Well, it’s unfortunate if you’re facing a cyberattack on your home internet. However, you need to run adequate actions such as the ones mentioned above so that the damages can be mitigated. Ensure that you strengthen your security and take your internet company’s help in this instance.