How to Tell Whether Your Company Suffered a Cyberattack

Warning signs and preparation for an incident

January 20, 2022 by

EthicsGlobal Team

Discovering a cyberattack can be alarming, but your company is not alone. Organizations face attacks every year. The key questions are how an attacker could reach you and what you can do to limit the damage.

Have an incident-response plan so everyone knows their responsibilities and how to communicate during a crisis. Depending on the incident and applicable requirements, authorities may also need to be notified.

How can you tell whether your company has suffered a cyberattack?

There is no single sign. Attackers can remain hidden, so the article's historical detection-time estimate should not be treated as a current benchmark.

Possible warning signs include:

Unfamiliar activity on a financial account

Unexpected card charges or account activity may indicate stolen payment information. Investigate with the financial institution; it does not by itself prove a company breach.

Unusual email messages

If contacts receive messages you did not send, or your Sent folder contains unfamiliar mail, your account may be compromised.

Programs suddenly appear

Software you did not install may signal unauthorized access or another security problem worth investigating.

A familiar password stops working

An unexpected password change may indicate that someone altered your account credentials. Verify promptly through a trusted recovery channel.

Unexplained browser activity

Browser actions you did not initiate, such as unfamiliar pages or settings, may indicate unwanted software or unauthorized control.

You lose control of browsing

Unexpected redirects or blocked sites can be signs of malware or misconfiguration. Have your technical team examine the device.

How can you prepare for a cyberattack?

Back up your information

Keep regular backups and test that files can actually be restored. The right schedule depends on how much data your organization can afford to lose. A reliable, separate backup can be crucial for recovery after an incident.

At EthicsGlobal, we believe awareness is vital to effective corporate cybersecurity. Alongside a Code of Ethics , organizations should build habits of prevention and protection against attacks; in a serious incident, preparation can make a major difference.