Many companies train their employees to recognize phishing emails. But what happens when someone clicks on a malicious link and enters their login credentials on a fake website despite this training?
Mistakes happen – what matters most in such situations is how quickly and effectively a company responds. Even a single mistake can have serious consequences if the appropriate countermeasures are not taken in time.
Let's consider the following scenario: An employee receives an email that appears to come from a trusted business partner. They click on the link and enter their login credentials on a fake login page. Through a manipulated authentication process, the attacker manages to hijack a valid session.
What needs to be done immediately?
The incident should be reported to the responsible IT administrators without delay and with high priority. The time between detecting an attack and implementing effective countermeasures is often crucial in determining the extent of the damage.
This is why it is so important that every employee knows whom to contact in the event of a suspected or confirmed security incident. It is always better to report a potential false alarm than to leave a real incident unreported.
The more relevant information the IT team has about the incident, the faster appropriate countermeasures can be implemented. Employees should therefore provide as much detail as possible about when and how the incident occurred. Further evidence collection, such as preserving system logs, should be handled by the IT team.
The IT team must now respond quickly and systematically – panic is not an option. First, it must determine whether unauthorized access has already occurred. Affected user accounts must be blocked, active sessions terminated, and login credentials reset immediately. Depending on the situation, affected systems may also need to be isolated, suspicious login activities investigated, and relevant logs preserved.
The next step is to investigate whether data has been stolen, modified, or encrypted. Since office applications, cloud services, and CRM systems are often interconnected, potential dependencies and other affected systems must also be considered.
It is also necessary to determine whether business partners need to be informed or whether legal reporting obligations apply, for example under the GDPR or NIS2.
