What are the red flags of a cyber-attack or data breach?
It is important to be aware of the signs to look out for to determine if you have been attacked or hacked. You would also want to know how to respond immediately to avoid any compromise of your business or systems. These are the usual tell-tale signs that you or your organisation have been attacked:
- Strange user activity (such as logging in at non-office hours, from abnormal locations, or from several locations in a short period of time).
- Usual files, applications, or services cannot be accessed.
- Accounts have been locked or the passwords have been changed without your knowledge.
- Files or software have been deleted or installed, or the contents have been changed without your involvement.
- Suspicious pop-ups load when you access the internet, or unknown files or programmes appear.
- Slower than normal internet speeds due to a spike in network traffic (or computers “hang” or crash).
- Abnormally high system, network, or disk activity (when most applications are idle).
- Files have been unexpectedly encrypted and cannot be accessed.
- Programmes running, turning off or reconfiguring themselves that cannot be traced back to a source of approval.
- Emails sent automatically without the user’s knowledge.
- No control over functions of the computer (e.g., in instances whereby devices can be controlled remotely, or computers get locked and display messages coaxing users into paying a ransom).