What Can Be Obtained?
Before you take any kind of action, you have to find out how much of your online store has been hacked. What was the person able to do or take? This can be done by going through each section with a fine-tooth comb.
Don’t assume that everything was taken. Many of the online store accounts will use different levels of encryption for different areas.
Some information that can be obtained:
- Email addresses
- Credit card information
- Mailing addresses
- Inventory
- Proprietary information
Each of these items can be stored online, and therefore, it is possible for someone to hack and copy the information. They may also delete the information from your account, which means you may not have access to the information that you need any longer.
Use a Secure Email Account
No email account is 100 percent secure. However, most of the Internet email accounts use a lot of encryption and offer many security features. If you don’t think the site offers much in terms of security, consider not using it and finding another provider. Follow the instructions for establishing a secure account and adhere to a password that is at least eight characters in length.
Contact Customers
You will need to contact all of your customers. This is the hardest part because your customers trusted you with their personal information and you have to come out and say that you were victim to a security breach. Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone and many large companies have been hacked as well. Let them know what was compromised so they can order new credit cards or monitor their email more closely.
Create a Backup
You need to create a backup of all of the information that you store online. It can be stored in another cloud or on your computer. Some of the items that you need to store include a copy of your customer database, inventory, as well as any proprietary information that you more store online, including recipes, financials or anything else.
Call Local Authorities
You will need to call and report the fact that your online store account has been compromised. The first call should be to local authorities, and they may provide you with another number to call. The company or website that hosts your website should also be contacted so that you can inform them of the security breach.
The host company may have their own protocol for you to follow. This can include listing what has been stolen and then running an investigation to see when and how your account was hacked and if there were other websites that were also affected.
Whether the local authorities conduct it or a host company conducts it, a criminal investigation may be opened where they are going to need your full cooperation. They are going to look for “digital fingerprints” to see who was responsible for hacking your account. If they find the person who hacked your account, you may be able to press charges and obtain some of the data that was stolen before it can be used against you.
Taking Precautions
You need to take precautions to prevent such a thing from happening again in the future. This means creating more backups, using a higher level of encryption, and potentially not storing as much information online where it can be stolen.
If your online store account gets hacked, you need to learn from the experience. Don’t make the same mistakes in the future. Change your password with more frequency, research the online providers for your website and email, and ensure that they are doing their part to prevent any hacking from taking place.
You may not have been able to control getting hacked, but you can control how you manage security in the future.
Dominick Rivoli is the owner at A1 Rivoli, top office equipment and computer repair and service specialists for the Long Island, NY Nassau, and Western Suffolk areas. Visit the website at www.a1rivoli.com.
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