When a website gets hacked, it can cause real problems for many businesses. First, visitors may see warnings from their browser that deter them from visiting, and while this keeps them safe, they may not come back if they find a competitor during that time.
Second, if the hack goes undetected for too long, the hosting company could even take your business website offline — which is a difficult situation for any IT support team. Here are a few ways to deal with a hacked website, along with ideas for preventing it from happening.
Immediately change all your passwords
This step includes primary and secondary FTP passwords, passwords for any databases, plus any apps you use that connect to your website or blog — for example, WordPress. Create new, strong passwords for each service, and don’t use the same password for each app or system.
If you’re unsure how to change passwords, contact your IT support or managed IT services team.
Consider how the hack occurred and fix the issue
If there’s an obvious issue, such as a leaked password, then changing passwords or increasing IT security should help prevent further issues. Other problems could include malware or website security issues. An IT professional can explore these further.
Restore your website from an uncorrupted backup
If you have a recent backup that you are confident is “pre-hack,” you can restore your website and carry on with business as usual. Taking regular backups is recommended for this exact reason.
Check the integrity of core files
If you can access your core website files, check to see if the hack has modified them in any way; most core files should remain the same at all times. An IT specialist should be able to use specific commands to discover any files that were recently modified.
Prevention is better than cure
This adage is surprisingly relevant for dealing with IT security breaches, like when your website gets hacked. Managed IT services help businesses monitor and manage backups, carry out preventive maintenance, and reduce website downtime caused by issues such as hacking.
Making use of expert IT advice to prevent hacking gets away from the “break-fix” cycle of reacting to problems retrospectively.
Talk to Praxis about how managed IT services could be the right IT support to prevent problems like website hacking from causing detriment to your business.
