Incident Response: What to Do if You’ve Been Hacked

Blog post description.

Henry O

10/3/20252 min read

It’s a normal Tuesday. You’ve got a coffee in one hand, a to-do list in the other, and then, bam!, you get the dreaded message: “We’ve noticed unusual activity on your account.” Or worse, your files suddenly vanish behind a ransom note demanding cryptocurrency.

First thought? Panic.
Second thought? Who do I even call for this?!

Let’s take a deep breath. Getting hacked is scary, but what you do in the first few hours can make the difference between a bad day and a business nightmare.

Step 1: Contain the Damage

Think of it like a kitchen fire. The first move isn’t redecorating; it’s grabbing the extinguisher. Disconnect compromised systems from your network to stop the spread. Pull the plug (literally, if you have to).

Step 2: Call in the Pros (aka Don’t DIY This)

Unless your side hustle is “ethical hacker,” this is not the time to YouTube solutions. Get your IT team or a trusted cybersecurity partner on the case immediately. They know how to preserve evidence and start plugging holes.

Step 3: Know What’s at Stake

Identify what systems, data, or accounts are affected. Customer info? Financial data? Your operations platform? The faster you know, the faster you can prioritize what to restore and how to respond.

Step 4: Communicate Clearly (and Smartly)

Your team needs to know what’s going on, without panic. Your customers may need to be informed too, depending on the data impacted. The golden rule? Be transparent, but strategic. No wild speculation, no cover-ups.

Step 5: Learn, Improve, Repeat

Once the smoke clears, don’t just go back to business as usual. Every incident is a (painful) learning opportunity. Update policies. Strengthen training. Patch vulnerabilities. Build muscle memory so next time (hopefully never), your team reacts faster and smarter.

The Real Opportunity in a Hack

Here’s the truth: no business is bulletproof. But the ones who bounce back fastest have one thing in common, an incident response plan. Having a playbook in place saves money, time, and reputation.

That’s where we come in.

At Deosh Group, we don’t just help you respond to incidents, we help you prepare for them. From building customized playbooks to training your team, we make sure you can turn chaos into calm, and mistakes into momentum.