I Have Been Hacked How Do I Fix It? In The UK
No matter where you are located on this small interconnected planet, we all face the issues of dealing with aftermath of a cyber attack. Hopefully you find this information useful.
Step1: Know the signs that may indicate you have been hacked.
What Might a Cyber Breach Look Like?
Locked Accounts or Password Changes.
You suddenly can’t access your email, systems, or cloud services — or passwords have been changed without your knowledge.
Unusual System Slowness.
Your computer or network becomes sluggish for no clear reason, especially during off-peak hours.
Strange Emails Sent from Your Account.
Contacts report receiving odd or suspicious messages from you — often with links or attachments.
Unusual System Slowness.
Your computer or network becomes sluggish for no clear reason, especially during off-peak hours.
Missing, Renamed, or Encrypted Files.
Files disappear, are renamed, or are replaced with unreadable versions (often with ransom notes).
Unexpected Pop-Ups or Warnings.
You see unfamiliar security alerts, software installation prompts, or system warnings.
Login Alerts from Unknown Locations.
You get notifications about logins from places or devices you don’t recognize.
Unusual Financial Activity.
Invoices are altered, payments are redirected, or bank accounts show unexpected transactions.
New Software or Tools You Didn’t Install
Programs appear on your system that you didn’t authorize — especially remote access tools
Disabled Security Features.
Your antivirus, firewall, or backup systems are turned off or not working properly.
Staff Reporting Odd Behaviour.
Team members notice strange activity — like files moving, emails disappearing, or systems behaving oddly.
Step2: Simple Steps To Limit Damage After You Have Been Hacked
- Immediately disconnect devices from the Internet or turn off your internet connection.
- If you are talking to someone passing off as a bank or IT Support, disconnect with them and avoid further interaction
- Speak to trusted family members, just to get their input.
- Make notes of events capturing dates and times
- Don’t Post About It Online
- Start making a list of all of your internet accounts. Include email accounts and subscription services.
- Start digging out any data backups you may have to hand. You may need them.
- Don’t pay any ransom demands. You have no guarantee your data will be returned.
Step3: Reach Out To A Trusted IT Support Company, avoid using email. You don't know if someone else is watching your email.
Time is against you, so you need to act fast. Some cyber breaches are designed to intimidate or embarrass the victim in to not following up with help and support. As IT professionals, we are hear to help you and not judge. As a victim or crime, you may also want to follow this up with a crime agency after the initial triage.
Step4: Setting Expectations For Anyone That Has Been Hacked.
At IT LifeRaft, our initial focus is on containment, to ensure the issue does not escalate. In some instances, the damage may already been done. We may not be able to reverse the actions of a cyber breach, such as a crypto locker attack. Depending on the nature of the hack, it could take a couple of hours to resolve the issue.
Our checklist includes securing your hardware and then reclaiming access to accounts. We will need to work closely with you to ensure we close all the back doors. Every breach needs to be addressed on a case per case basis. This reclamation process may take a couple of hours and this may not guarantee a fix.
Step5: Securing Your Desktop or Laptop With Our Remote Agent
We first need to gain access to your hardware. Under our instruction, we will ask you to re-connect your device to the internet. If you can still logon, we will direct you to our website to download our Remote Agent. Look for the LifeRaft at the top right of the webpage and follow the instructions.
Once installed, the agent will start running updates, install an antivirus product and allow us to start monitoring your device remotely for suspicious activity. This process may require several reboots on your machine as changes are being made.
Once updated and a backup has been taken, we will leave your device on a soak test. Depending on the results, we can then advise if the device has been compromised beyond repair and plan further remediation.
Step6: Securing Accounts
After we have secured access to your hardware, we will then focus on your accounts. We will ask you to reset passwords and assist you in setting up new passwords secured using modern authentication. This normally requires the use of a mobile phone. (Please ensure you have a mobile phone to hand).
We will then review your email settings. Depending on your breach, rules can often be setup to hide email activity
Once we have confirmed your device is secure, we will ask you to follow up checking in with your bank.
Step7: Review & Post Cyber Breach Monitoring
***For Business*** If the cyber breach involves a potential data leak of personal datal, this may need to be reported to the ICO. Check with your internal polices or procedures to ensure
Once we have reclaimed access to your accounts, we will need to monitor for suspicious activity. We suggest leaving the remote agent running. Once you have been compromised, it is more than likely you will be targeted again.
- Check to see if your details have been leaked to the dark web.
- Our recommendation: https://haveibeenpwned.com/
- Install a password manager.
- Our recommendation: https://keepass.info/
- Ensure all software is kept up to date
- Ensure all mobile devices are secured with an antivirus program. This includes iPhones. Go to the Play store or Apple equivalent. Having some antivirus protection is better than none.
- Our recommendation: AVG Free
- As a victim, consider contacting action fraud or the government website to report the crime.
- Review all other accounts in use. Ensure all have unique passwords. Use a password manager to create new passwords.
- Check to ensure all your backups are working correctly.
- Clean out your browser history and cookie cache on a regular basis.
Cyber threats are on the rise. If you have been hacked, we recommend you consider continuing with our Remote Agent Service. This goes above and beyond the protection of a simple antivirus program. We can actively monitor for suspicious activity on your hardware, keep your machine and software updated and provide a backup of your critical files (up-to 200Gb of offsite storage), if the worst were to happen.
IT LifeRaft Recommendation
If you’ve been hacked, we strongly recommend continuing with our Remote Agent Service. It offers more than basic antivirus—it actively monitors your hardware, keeps your software updated, and provides up to 200GB of offsite backup storage.
This service is designed to help you recover quickly and prevent future breaches. If you’ve been hacked, this could be the difference between a quick recovery and long-term damage
Conclusion
Dealing with the aftermath of being hacked can be time-consuming and stressful. That’s why we suggest rolling out our software before a breach occurs. In many cases, our agent can stop malicious activity in its tracks.
If you’ve been hacked, our tools give you a solid starting point to restore your data and protect your business. Please share this guide with your team or across your social channels—it could help someone else who’s been hacked.
Need help now? Contact Us for immediate support.
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