Bounced Back from a Website Hack? Here’s How to Respond and Protect Your Site in the Future.

Having your website hacked is comparable to waking up to find your house upside down with signs of burglary. It's confounding, infuriating, terrifying, and even more so when your website is at the center of the business. However, just like how one can tidy up after an invasion and install better locks, website owners can also bounce back into shape after a website hack has taken place and be rest assured there won't be a recurrence.

This blog will try to put forward in simple terms the steps that one can take after having suffered from a website hack, how to bring things back to normalcy and reinforce strategies to ensure the minimization of similar occurrences in the future. These insights will be useful whether you are a small business or a flourishing company.

First Steps After a Website Hack: Don't Panic, Act Fast

As soon as you even suspect that someone has hijacked your website, the battleground has been initiated. It is a race against time. You need to move, but not in a rash manner. The first action is very important in helping to reduce the impact and protecting the core of the business-the website.

1. Isolate the Problem: The first thing that you'll want to do is take your website offline. Why? It is to ensure that there is no further damage and that all other unlawful actions are stopped. It is like blocking the water flow to a leaking tap--stop the bleeding before it worsens. Truth is, you will not be comfortable letting your prospects and customers walk into a compromised website which could damage your brand reputation or infect their servers or systems.
2. Immediate Password Change: Your passwords are the first line of defense, so change them right now. Passwords should be the ones to be updated - admin passwords or any database or ftp or hosting accounts and passwords. Strong passwords should be embraced, and no simple words like "admin123" to be used (Let's admit it, some of us might have done this).
3. Backup What You Can: If you can help it, get hold of a copy of your site before you undertake the restoration process. Although it may seem like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, this backup could be very important when investigating what happened, or for addressing any untouched data. In addition, this picture showing hacking can enable your website development firm to fix the problem.

Conducting the Damage Assessment: What transpired?

Once your website is down, changes to the passwords are made and you are certain that the unidentified individuals have no access to your site, you can go on and do the damage control assessment. This is where it gets interesting. Depending on what was breached - there are many types of hacks, and this encompasses everything from defaced sites/pages to more adverse consequences such as loss of data or the introduction of viruses.

1. Scan Your Files: Hackers often overwrite or add viruses to websites. Some may be buried in unassuming sections of the desk, so it is advisable to check the files of the site well. If you have no idea how to proceed, web design companies or website development companies are capable of doing a thorough investigation and isolating the compromised areas.
2. Look at User Accounts: If your website has the feature of User Sign up or a database with managed Sensitive customer data, you will want to look out for the user accounts. Hackers may sometimes create new accounts with high-privilege access and use these new accounts to log back in at a later time. Please delete all such unauthorized or unknown user accounts.
3. Notify Stakeholders: In the case your website has sensitive customer data, it is mandatory to reach out to the customer and let them know about the breach. Make sure to keep abreast of the data breach notification legislation. A website hack can give you more trouble than the restoration of the website. Therefore, being open and taking a proactive stand helps in building trust.

Cleaning Up: How to Fix Your Website

When you've assessed the damage, and contain it whenever and however you can, it is time to clean up the mess left after the event. You've taken your website offline, secured your passwords, reset all your accounts, and scrolled through the folders on your hard disk. Now, it is time to do the heavy work.

1. Restore from Backup: The least complex way of managing a site restoration is to use a restored version of the site that has been clean and saved previously. Such backups are hopefully put in vogue by the website development company in your case. If this is not done, then this might just be the wake-up call that is needed for action. A reliable backup is worth all that copper and gold.
2. Remove Malicious Code: If restoring to a previously saved condition is an impossible option, then you'll have to manually comb through and delete the offending code. Search for unusual documents or edits in the programming of your website that were not approved by you. Here again, a website development company can offer the services necessary to make sure that all malicious code is wiped out.
3. Update Your Software: Unfortunately, an old version of software is one of the most common types of web exploitation, be it a content management system such as WordPress, old plugins, or even unpatched vulnerabilities within the site. After the clean-up exercise, if there is any debris left, it ensures that every system is up to date. If your site is constructed by a professional website development company, you ought to be kept in a loop with regard to the updates and patches to be done.

Prevention: Locking Down Your Website for the Future

Recovering from a hack is only half the battle. The next step involves building better walls that will protect the website from future attacks. Here's what you can do with your site so as not to go through the same trouble again.

1. Regular Software Updates: Getting your website's software up to date is not only good practice -- it is very important. People stay behind and use outdated software. Update your CMS, plugins, and other software and appliances in routine intervals. A proactive web design company will take care of this for you so that you will not be able to sweat the technical aspects.
2. Web Application Firewall (WAF): A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is as good as having a bouncer at the front door of your web application. It prevents attacks by screening harmful requests. If you have not already done so, you would be advised that there is value in using WAF to block familiar attacks such as cross-site scripting and SQL injection.
3. Strong Authentication: Move beyond passwords and have them where there is multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA is when a user is further asked to provide some additional method of verification other than a password, for example a sms code or an authentication application. It's a trivial step that retains a lion's share of your site's security.
4. Ongoing Security Audits: Even after the initial frenzy subsides, it is essential to continue monitoring other aspects of the website for security concerns, as well. Periodic security audits help preempt hackers in discovering areas of weakness in a site. A reliable web development company can carry out these audits and provide solutions on ways of avoiding such problems.

How Evalogical Can Help You Build a Stronger, Safer Website.

Evalogical, one of the leading website development companies in the USA, understands that hacking a business website is the most ill-fated thing that can ever happen to any business. This is why we do more than build websites, we go the extra mile we offer protection for the sites. So, whether you need help to recover a breached website, want to secure your website from hacking or would like to work with a security service provider for the future, we are a team dedicated to serving you. Being a web development and website design company, Evalogical has the necessary know-how to not only restore damage to your website but also provide protective measures against future attacks.

Let's talk about how we can secure your website, ensuring that your website development projects are not only beautiful but also safe from threats. Get in touch today and let us help you create a more resilient website.