6 Signs you've been breached

In a perfect world, your company’s knowledge ought to be viewed, modified, and managed solely by those authorised to access it. However, the reality for many Australian businesses falls wanting these expectations. Cybercriminals, rogue workers, and unwitting staff will compromise knowledge at a moment’s notice. In fact, in line with a recent report by the workplace of the Australian data Commissioner, there have been 539 breaches reportable between July and December 2020.  

What’s worrying is that many of the organisations that fall victim to a breach are unaware of unauthorised access to their knowledge for weeks, if not months. At that point, unauthorised users might have taken passwords, tampered with money records, and destroyed precious proprietary data. Having the ability to detect a breach from day one is so crucial to any company’s survival. To assist you in achieving that, we’ve compiled six warning signs that associate that an unauthorised user has gained access to your sensitive company data.  

1. Unusual file changes

Cybercriminals who manage to infiltrate your company’s network can and will do whatever they want with your data. They will modify the contents of sensitive files to profit for themselves, like changing account numbers and financial data. Some cybercriminals might siphon large swaths of knowledge, whereas others might merely delete them from your archives. Unless your organisation is actively observant and consistently monitoring for these changes, the information breach might go undetected for long periods of your time. 

Microsoft’s knowledge loss interference (DLP) system monitors file activity in real time, permitting you to identify changes indicative of an information breach in progress. It logs each amendment created to vital documents and tracks who created the amendment and when. DLP even detects uncommon file transfers and permits you to set rules to prevent sharing of sensitive data to unauthorised parties. 

2. Logins from unknown places

A positive sign of a breach is when an associate account is accessed from an unknown location and device. Many online services nowadays track the IP address wherever you access the account and the device that you’re using to access it. If there’s something out of the norm in relation to wherever the account was accessed, online services notify the anomaly. For instance, you will be alerted that your Microsoft account was accessed from an unregistered device in Moscow when you’ve only ever used a your work device in Sydney.

When there are suspicious logins, check account settings and remove any trusted devices you don’t recognise. You should also log off all accounts from every location and change your passwords to prevent any further issue.

3. Locked user accounts

Once cybercriminals have compromised your account, they’ll typically change the password to lock out their victim. This technique buys cybercriminals time as they wreak havoc on your systems before anyone will respond and stop any additional damage.

If users report that they’re unable to log in despite using the correct credentials, your IT team ought to review recent password changes. They should then reset any accounts suspected of being breached and train users to be a lot more diligent with their passwords. Setting rigorous password policies that enforce longer and more unique combinations will greatly reduce the any unauthorised access. 

More importantly, implementing multifactor authentication (MFA) will make it much more difficult for hackers to hijack user accounts. The technology requires users to provide additional forms of verification such as one-time passcodes generated via security app or a fingerprint scan. That means your account security doesn’t solely depend on the strength of your employees’ passwords. 

4. Suspicious admin user behaviour

If an unauthorised user gains access to administrator accounts, they primarily get unchained management over everything in your system. they will elevate their access privileges, read extremely classified data, and modify security settings, effort you at risk of attacks. 

The only way to spot whether or not somebody is abusing these privileges is to look at all users with a healthy degree of suspicion. Keep a watch on who’s accessing sensitive data, creating high-volume transactions, or ever-changing permissions. If you've got reason to believe that privileged user accounts are compromised, it’s important to reconfigure access restrictions across the board. With Microsoft Azure Security Center, you'll be able to guarantee each user has the minimum level of access necessary for his or her jobs in order that they don’t misuse sensitive knowledge.  

5. Sluggish performance

Malware is a backdoor where hackers will access your network and steal your data. Once the malware is fully installed and prepared to be used, it usually ‘phones home’ to establish contact with cybercriminals. Committing this and other actions consume computing resources within the background. This suggests that if devices run slower than usual, there can be malware embedded in your system. Similarly, malware could also be present if your device seems to overheat and go through its battery cycle abundantly quicker than usual.

To check if there are programs running in the background consuming processing power, head to Activity Monitor or Task Manager. Then, run a full system scan with anti-malware software to look for signs of infection and remove the malware. Finally, update your security software to reduce the possibilities of data-stealing malware taking root in your systems again. 

6. Abnormal device activity

Besides sluggish performance, data breaches may be in progress when your devices are executing actions that you didn’t initiate. These actions can include but not limited to pop-up messages, fake antivirus alerts, unknown apps installed on the device, and browser tabs automatically opening suspicious sites. Your devices might even open applications randomly or reboot without prompting. 

If you suspect a device has been compromised, your initial priority ought to be to isolate the device from the corporate network. This primarily involves denying the device from accessing any sensitive files by setting specific DLP policies. Employees should also avoid using the potentially compromised device till security specialists have mitigated the threat. 

While protective data from unauthorised access is an incredibly important task, it may also be rather difficult. That’s why you need support from Intrix Cyber Security. As Australia’s leading cybersecurity experts, we will assist you in implementing a well-rounded data security framework. From putting in DLP policies to proactively monitoring your systems, we’ll make sure your data is being accessed by the right people. Call us today to get started on your proactive cybersecurity journey.