Recent Cybersecurity Breach in Atlanta Underscores Need for Cybersecurity Best Practices

Cybersecurity Best Practices to Prevent Data Breaches

Atlanta-based 360 Smart Networks is a cybersecurity company serving clients in Atlanta, Charlotte, and the southeast. We can implement cybersecurity best practices to decrease your exposure to network insecurity.  

Cyberattacks are targeted at small and large organizations in Atlanta and around the world. A recent data breach with a local wire manufacturer emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity best practices at your company.

How Did Hackers Breach Security Protocols at Southwire Co. LLC?

Read about the Southwire cybersecurity issue here.

According to Bizjournals, a data breach disrupted business operations at a large private company in metro Atlanta. Based in Carrollton, the wire manufacturer was back online in a few days. Southwire probably had comprehensive backups available offsite or may have been able to contain the breach quickly.

"The Internet harbors many potential threats to your data. Things like viruses and Trojans don’t just steal your data...There’s also the threat of ransomware. That’s when a hacker puts a virus on your computer that encrypts your data, making it useless. You may have to pay a ransom for the hacker to unencrypt your data...If you have a current backup of your data, this is less of a worry. You can just wipe your hard drive and restore it to your latest backup." according to Norton.

Southwire learned of its cyberattack when its security monitoring system alerted them of suspicious activity. Talent Acquisition VP Jason Pollard said the company acted responsibly by quarantining its entire system. The company spokesman said that many locations stayed open but couldn't perform certain functions.

Southwire responded to an identified threat immediately and partnered with a reliable IT security company to contain it. Is your business ready to react quickly to a threat or breach?

What Can You Do to Protect Your Data and Networks?

The following cybersecurity best practices help individuals and companies prevent data breaches:

• Back up your computer. When you perform regular backups, you can restore your computer if it becomes infected by malware.
• Store your backups separately. Best practices include remote backups that cannot be compromised by a data breach. It's also a good idea to store data on an external hard drive or similar device to keep an on-site backup source.
• Train your organization. It only takes a single click to open an infected email attachment or link. Organizations that provide cybersecurity awareness training reduce the threat of internal actors unknowingly unleashing a virus into the company network.

How Do You Respond to a Malware Infection?

Southwire immediately shut down its network to contain the breach. This action follows CISA's cybersecurity best practices, which recommend the following steps following a cyber incident:

• Isolate the infected system. If it's a device, disable the Bluetooth, wireless and other networking functionality. Disconnect shared drives.
• Turn off the affect devices. Segregate infected computers and power them off. This may allow specialists to recover some encrypted files.
• Secure your backups. Make sure backups are secure and offline. Scan the backups with available anti-virus tools to ensure they aren't impacted.

Choose an Atlanta IT Managed Services Provider to Implement Cybersecurity Best Practices

Atlanta-based 360 Smart Networks is a cybersecurity and IT consulting company. Our clients include organizations in Atlanta, Charlotte and throughout the southeast. Let us help your organization learn and embrace cybersecurity best practices to decrease your exposure to network insecurity.