What to Do If You’re Involved in a Data Breach

It is probably inevitable that you will receive a message saying your data has been caught up in a breach, according to a Malware Bytes blog post. If the organization hasn’t communicated with you about what to do next, here are tips you can use to mitigate your own risks.

1. Check the organization’s official channels, follow any specific advice they offer, and keep an eye out for further communications.
2. Immediately change your password for the site and any others you use, making sure to use different passwords for each one. Consider using a password manager, which will generate and store passwords for you.
3. Add multi-factor authentication (MFA) to stop anyone from logging in with only your password. An app such as Google Authenticator, Authy, or Microsoft Authenticator will generate a code you can enter into your computer. SMS MFA will send you a code via text to enter into the website or a hardware key to plug into your computer.
4. Set up a credit freeze at each of the three major credit bureaus. It will stop potential thieves from accessing your credit report.
5. You can get different levels of monitoring solutions, and credit monitoring will alert you if anything changes in your credit report.
6. As scammers try to take advantage of data breaches by spoofing emails, the best practice is to continue monitoring your organization’s website for information about the breach. Be skeptical of messages that appear to come from the organization with inconsistencies, odd email addresses, or strange links.