Recovering from a Cyber Security Breach: A Practical Business Guide
- Neil Hare-Brown
- Apr 18
- 3 min read
A cyber security breach doesn’t end when the immediate threat is contained.
The recovery phase is where businesses often face their biggest challenges - restoring operations, managing reputational risk, and ensuring vulnerabilities are closed to prevent repeat incidents.
Whether your organisation has just experienced a breach, or you’re reviewing your recovery planning, this guide outlines the key steps to take post-incident - and how to come back stronger.
Step 1: Stabilise and Secure
Once the threat is contained:
Verify that all attacker access points have been closed
Change credentials for affected systems and privileged accounts
Patch known vulnerabilities across your network
Begin system restoration only from clean, verified backups
Recovery should never start until you're confident the breach has been fully contained.
Step 2: Assess the Impact
Map the full extent of the breach:
What systems, services, and data were affected?
Was sensitive or personal data compromised?
How long was the attacker active before detection?
Were operations disrupted (e.g. finance, logistics, customer services)?
Use this assessment to inform communications, reporting, and prioritisation of next steps.
Step 3: Notify Stakeholders (If Applicable)
Depending on the breach, you may need to notify:
Regulators (e.g. the ICO in the UK, under GDPR)
Customers or affected individuals
Insurers, partners, or vendors under contractual obligations
Internal staff to coordinate changes, communicate responsibly and ensure your staff are supported
Don’t wait for pressure to build. Early, transparent communication builds trust.
Step 4: Restore Systems and Data Safely
System recovery should follow a structured process:
Plan your restoration process and allow for systems and data dependencies
Restore from known-good backups (offline or immutable where possible)
Rebuild affected infrastructure with updated security controls
Closely monitor restored systems for any signs of lingering threats
Avoid shortcuts - this is a key opportunity to build back better
If Ransomware or Extortion Is Involved
Some breaches involve ransomware or data theft, with attackers making demands in exchange for access or silence. In these cases, it’s important to avoid direct contact and let specialists handle any communications.
Managing all contact with attackers securely and anonymously
Verifying credibility and likelihood of recovery
Negotiating reduced demands (if payment becomes a last resort)
Coordinating safe file recovery
This ensures your response is compliant, controlled, and focused on business continuity.
Step 5: Learn from the Breach
Every incident is an opportunity to improve:
Conduct a detailed post-incident review
Analyse the root cause and any detection or response gaps
Document what worked well - and what didn’t
Share learnings with key teams, from IT to leadership
A mature security culture learns fast and applies those lessons to future strategy.
Step 6: Strengthen Your Security Posture
Recovery isn’t complete without forward-looking action:
Update your incident response and business continuity plans
Improve forensic readiness and detection capabilities (e.g. EDR, SIEM, logging)
Reassess your backup and restoration readiness
Provide training and awareness sessions for staff
Consider third-party audits or penetration testing
Need Help Navigating Recovery? STORM Guidance Is Ready
We support businesses across every stage of breach response and recovery - from first containment through to long-term resilience planning.
✔ Technical investigation and secure restoration
✔ Breach impact analysis and reporting
✔ Legal and regulatory support
✔ Recovery strategy and risk mitigation
✔ Staff training and post-incident guidance
Recovering Right Means Thinking Beyond the Fix
A cyber breach is disruptive - but with a measured, well-managed recovery, your business can emerge more secure and more resilient than before.
The key is not just restoring what was lost, but strengthening what comes next.
STORM Guidance is here to help you do both - with clarity, speed, and confidence.
