According to Gallup, 71% of Americans worry about cybercrime. They have good reason to be. In 2018, almost 1 in 4 Americans were victims of a cyberattack.

Credit unions have a responsibility to their customers to keep their personal information and financial data private and secure. Financial institutions must take a proactive stance on website security as more customers depend on mobile solutions. However, not all safeguards are foolproof. Below are some tell-tale signs that a cyberattack has compromised your credit union’s website security.

 

Search engines blacklist your website.

If hackers successfully send spam or malicious code from your website, search engines could blacklist your website from result pages. If by chance your credit union website shows up, the search engine may flag your listing to make customers aware that your site might be hacked and could infect their systems. Customers may receive similar warnings when they access your site directly, that is if your site loads at all.

 

Your website performance declines.

A common tactic cyber thieves use to disguise criminal activity is direct traffic to a malicious site through a compromised site. This results in a spike in website traffic that can slow down your credit union’s website or take it down completely. The increased bandwidth necessary to handle the redirection then prevents real customers from accessing your website.

 

You notice unexplainable server activity and processes.

Suspicious activity on your web host is a good indicator of a security breach. Strange IP addresses from unknown locations, especially other countries, could signal unauthorized access. Even unusual activity from privileged account users might reveal that a cyber thief has stolen legitimate account credentials. You should also be wary of any extreme process and memory usage in the absence of website activity.

 

Unfamiliar content appears on your website.

If you notice unfamiliar or new content on your website, a cybercriminal could have inserted it to hide malicious links or code. Mysterious plugins that suddenly appear in your content management system could be malware intended to infect your entire system.

 

Final Words

If you suspect your credit union’s website has been compromised, you must prevent further access to your site and notify customers if and how they were affected immediately. After you’ve mitigated any damage, you should reinforce your website security to prevent future incidents.

By hosting your credit union website with CUWebsite Services, we’ll monitor your site 24/7 for suspicious activity, processes, and files. Partner up with a company that understands the unique security and privacy challenges financial institutions face.