How to find out that your account has been hacked: 10 obvious signs

If you notice that the site is behaving strangely, for example, redirecting users to suspicious resources or showing unauthorized changes to the content, this may be the result of a hack.

For example, a small food delivery business in Moscow encountered a problem when the site began redirecting users to phishing pages. As a result, the company lost some customers until the problem was fixed.

What to do:

• Please check the site regularly for changes.

• Use anti-hacking protection such as Web Application Firewall (WAF).

• Back up your site regularly.

If servers or computers suddenly start running slower than usual, this could indicate the presence of malware, crypto miners, or other malicious programs.

What to do:

• Install antivirus software.

• Regularly scan systems for threats.

• Update your software.

Once attackers gain access to systems, they can begin sending information to their servers. This causes a sharp increase in outgoing Internet traffic.

In one of the Russian online stores, the system administrator noticed that the volume of outgoing traffic increased by 200% without changes in business processes. It later turned out that the attackers were sending client data to external servers.

What to do:

• Set up network traffic monitoring.

• Limit the amount of outgoing traffic if possible.

Phishing remains one of the main attack methods. If employees or customers begin to complain about suspicious emails purporting to be from the company, this signals a possible hack.

For example, an advertising agency from Kazan noticed that clients began to receive fake invoices sent from the company’s domain.

It turned out that the attackers had hacked the mail server.

What to do:

• Protect your corporate email, use strong passwords, and set up two-factor authentication.

• Notify customers about suspicious emails.

If your manager or employees start receiving unexpected password reset requests, this could be a sign of a hacking attempt.

Attackers often use this tactic to gain access to accounts, especially if the company has weak security. It is important to immediately recognize the threat and take measures to prevent negative consequences.

What to do in this situation:

• Make sure that the letter really came from the official service.
• Check the sender’s address — Fraudsters often use similar but fake domains.
• Create complex and unique passwords for all key services.
• Don’t use one password for different accounts.
• Analyze login logs. If suspicious authorization attempts have been detected, block these IP addresses.
• Make sure account access has not been changed.
• If the company does not have IT specialists, turn to cybersecurity experts.
• Give instructions about how to respond to unexpected requests.
• Remind us about the rules for using passwords and secure login to systems.

This is one of the most obvious signs that the company may have been hacked. When sensitive information is exposed, it is important to act quickly and effectively.

There are several signals that can indicate a leak:

1. Messages from clients or partners. They can notify you of strange activity related to their accounts or data.
2. Publications on the Internet. Company data was found on forums or on the darknet.
3. A sharp increase in suspicious activity. For example, many unauthorized logins or hacking attempts.
4. Problems with the operation of IT infrastructure. Sudden server crashes or suspicious files in the system.

Isolate the problem:

• Immediately disconnect compromised systems from the Internet to prevent further leakage.

• Block access to accounts that may have been compromised.

Notify specialists:

• Report the incident to IT service or cybersecurity specialists.

• If there is an agreement with an IT service provider, involve him in the investigation.

Conduct a security audit:

• Determine what data has been leaked: it could be personal customer data, financial documents or other sensitive information.

• Find out how the hack occurred – through a phishing attack, a weak password, or another vulnerability.

Notify victims:

• If customer or partner data has leaked, let them know what happened.

• Explain what measures have been taken to protect information and give instructions on how to protect yourself (for example, change passwords).

Take steps to prevent recurrences:

• Set new passwords and use two-factor authentication.

• Train employees on safety rules.

• Invest in security systems such as antiviruses and firewalls.

A company that sells goods online discovered that customer data (names, addresses, phone numbers) was made publicly available.

After notification from customers and security updates, it was discovered that the breach was due to a weak administrator password. The company has strengthened its protection and trained employees on how to act in such situations.

If unfamiliar users or programs appear on corporate devices, this may indicate malicious activity.

How to recognize a threat?

• Accounts appeared that no one created.

• The system runs programs that no one installed.

• Accounts or programs have high access rights without explanation.

• The processor and memory are loaded with no visible activity, which may indicate hidden malware.

What to do:

• Limit access to systems.

• Enable logging of all user actions.

• Remove suspicious accounts and programs.

9. Data encryption and ransom demands

One of the most dangerous attacks on a business is data encryption followed by a ransom demand, known as a ransomware attack.

How does data encryption by attackers work?

• Hackers use phishing emails, weak passwords, or software vulnerabilities to gain access to your system.

• Ransomware scans computers and servers, locking important files.

• The victim is sent a message with instructions to pay a ransom, often in cryptocurrency, for providing the decryption key.

• In addition to blocking data, attackers can threaten to publish confidential information.

What to do if the data is encrypted:

1. Don’t rush to pay the ransom.
2. Isolate the infected system. Disable your network to stop the spread of malware.
3. Call in cybersecurity experts to analyze the incident. Some types of ransomware already have decryptors available on the Internet.
4. Report to law enforcement authorities. In Russia, you can contact Roskomnadzor or the Center for Monitoring and Response to Computer Attacks.
5. Check your backups. If there are any, use them to recover your data. Make sure the backup is not infected.

When hackers gain access to a company’s systems, one of their first goals may be to disable security systems. This allows them to act unnoticed, increasing the damage. Let’s look at how to identify such actions, how to prevent them and what to do if this happens.

Signs that security systems are disabled:

• The antivirus stops working or reports errors.

• Firewall settings change.

• Systems stop recording data about network logins and user actions.

• There are no warnings about suspicious activity.

• Servers or computers begin to work slower due to the actions of malware.

What to do if security systems are disabled:

1. Isolate the suspicious device. Disconnect it from the network immediately to stop the threat from spreading further.
2. Restore your security settings. Check firewalls, antiviruses and other protection systems, returning them to standard settings.
3. Run a full scan. Use antivirus programs to find and remove threats.
4. Turn to the experts. Cybersecurity specialists will help restore the system and identify the cause of the outage.
5. Analyze the event log. If it is available, check who changed the system settings and when.

Recognizing signs of hacking allows you to quickly respond to threats and prevent serious consequences.

If a manager or employees find out that an account has been hacked, then urgent measures must be taken to protect it. regularly carry out preventive measures:

• update systems,

• train employees,

• use modern security tools.

To protect corporate information:

• use complex passwords,

• set up two-factor authentication,

• check your account activity.

Cover photo: Freepik