DATA BREACH 

RESPONSE

Federal Trade Commission | business.ftc.gov

A Guide for Business
You just learned that your business experienced a data 

breach. Whether hackers took personal information 

from your corporate server, an insider stole customer 

information, or information was inadvertently exposed on 

your company’s website, you are probably wondering what 

to do next. 

What steps should you take and whom should you contact 

if personal information may have been exposed? Although 

the answers vary from case to case, the following guidance 

from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can help you 

make smart, sound decisions. 

This guide addresses the steps to take once a 

breach has occurred. For advice on implementing a 

plan to protect consumers’ personal information and 

prevent breaches and unauthorized access, check 

out the FTC’s Protecting Personal Information: A 

Guide for Business and Start with Security: A Guide 

for Business.
1

Secure Your Operations

Move quickly to secure your systems and fix vulnerabilities

that may have caused the breach. The only thing worse 

than a data breach is multiple data breaches. Take steps so 

it doesn’t happen again. 

• Secure physical areas potentially related to the 

breach. Lock them and change access codes, 

if needed. Ask your forensics experts and law 

enforcement when it is reasonable to resume 

regular operations.

Mobilize your breach response team right away to prevent

additional data loss. The exact steps to take depend on the 

nature of the breach and the structure of your business. 

Assemble a team of experts to conduct a comprehensive 

breach response. Depending on the size and nature 

of your company, they may include forensics, legal, 

information security, information technology, operations, 

human resources, communications, investor relations,

and management. 

• Identify a data forensics team. Consider hiring 

independent forensic investigators to help you 

determine the source and scope of the breach. 

They will capture forensic images of affected 

systems, collect and analyze evidence, and outline 

remediation steps. 

• Consult with legal counsel. Talk to your legal 

counsel. Then, you may consider hiring outside legal 

counsel with privacy and data security expertise. 

They can advise you on federal and state laws that 

may be implicated by a breach.
2

Stop additional data loss. Take all affected equipment 

offline immediately — but don’t turn any machines off until 

the forensic experts arrive. Closely monitor all entry and exit 

points, especially those involved in the breach. If possible, 

put clean machines online in place of affected ones. In 

addition, update credentials and passwords of authorized 

users. If a hacker stole credentials, your system will remain 

vulnerable until you change those credentials, even if 

you’ve removed the hacker’s tools. 

Remove improperly posted information from the web.

• Your website: If the data breach involved personal 

information improperly posted on your website, 

immediately remove it. Be aware that internet 

search engines store, or “cache,” information 

for a period of time. You can contact the search 

engines to ensure that they don’t archive personal 

information posted in error. 

• Other websites: Search for your company’s 

exposed data to make sure that no other websites 

have saved a copy. If you find any, contact those 

sites and ask them to remove it.

Interview people who discovered the breach. Also, talk 

with anyone else who may know about it. If you have a 

customer service center, make sure the staff knows where 

to forward information that may aid your investigation of the 

breach. Document your investigation.

Do not destroy evidence. Don’t destroy any forensic evidence 

in the course of your investigation and remediation.
3

Fix Vulnerabilities

Think about service providers. If service providers were 

involved, examine what personal information they can 

access and decide if you need to change their access 

privileges. Also, ensure your service providers are taking 

the necessary steps to make sure another breach does not 

occur. If your service providers say they have remedied 

vulnerabilities, verify that they really fixed things. 

Check your network segmentation. When you set up your 

network, you likely segmented it so that a breach on one 

server or in one site could not lead to a breach on another 

server or site. Work with your forensics experts to analyze 

whether your segmentation plan was effective in containing 

the breach. If you need to make any changes, do so now.

Work with your forensics experts. Find out if measures 

such as encryption were enabled when the breach 

happened. Analyze backup or preserved data. Review logs 

to determine who had access to the data at the time of the 

breach. Also, analyze who currently has access, determine 

whether that access is needed, and restrict access if it 

is not. Verify the types of information compromised, the 

number of people affected, and whether you have contact 

information for those people. When you get the forensic 

reports, take the recommended remedial measures as soon 

as possible.

Have a communications plan. Create a comprehensive 

plan that reaches all affected audiences — employees, 

customers, investors, business partners, and other 

stakeholders. Don’t make misleading statements about 

the breach. And don’t withhold key details that might help 

consumers protect themselves and their information. Also, 

don’t publicly share information that might put consumers at 

further risk.
4

Anticipate questions that people will ask. Then, put top-tier 

questions and clear, plain-language answers on your 

website where they are easy to find. Good communication 

up front can limit customers’ concerns and frustration, 

saving your company time and money later. 

Notify Appropriate Parties

When your business experiences a data breach, notify 

law enforcement, other affected businesses, and 

affected individuals. 

Determine your legal requirements. All states, the 

District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands 

have enacted legislation requiring notification of security 

breaches involving personal information. In addition, 

depending on the types of information involved in the 

breach, there may be other laws or regulations that apply to 

your situation. Check state and federal laws or regulations 

for any specific requirements for your business.

Notify law enforcement. Call your local police department 

immediately. Report your situation and the potential risk 

for identity theft. The sooner law enforcement learns 

about the theft, the more effective they can be. If your 

local police aren’t familiar with investigating information 

compromises, contact the local office of the FBI or the U.S. 

Secret Service. For incidents involving mail theft, contact 

the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Did the breach involve electronic personal health records? 

Then check if you’re covered by the Health Breach 

Notification Rule. If so, you must notify the FTC and, in some 

cases, the media. Complying with the FTC’s Health Breach 

Notification Rule explains who you must notify, and when. 
5

Also, check if you’re covered by the HIPAA Breach 

Notification Rule. If so, you must notify the Secretary of the 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and, 

in some cases, the media. HHS’s Breach Notification Rule 

explains who you must notify, and when.

Health Breach Resources

HIPAA Breach Notification Rule:

hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/breach-notification

HHS HIPAA Breach Notification Form: 

hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/breach-notification/

breach-reporting

Complying with the FTC’s Health Breach

Notification Rule: 

ftc.gov/healthbreachnotificationrule

Notify affected businesses. If account access information 

— say, credit card or bank account numbers — has been 

stolen from you, but you don’t maintain the accounts, notify 

the institution that does so it can monitor the accounts 

for fraudulent activity. If you collect or store personal 

information on behalf of other businesses, notify them of 

the data breach.

If Social Security numbers have been stolen, contact the 

major credit bureaus for additional information or advice. 

If the compromise may involve a large group of people, 
6

advise the credit bureaus if you are recommending that 

people request fraud alerts and credit freezes for their 

files. 

Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services

or 1-800-685-1111

Experian: experian.com/help or 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-help or 1-888-909-8872

Notify individuals. If you quickly notify people that their 

personal information has been compromised, they can take 

steps to reduce the chance that their information will be 

misused. In deciding who to notify, and how, consider:

• state laws

• the nature of the compromise

• the type of information taken

• the likelihood of misuse

• the potential damage if the information is misused

For example, thieves who have stolen names and Social 

Security numbers can use that information not only to 

sign up for new accounts in the victim’s name, but also to 

commit tax identity theft. People who are notified early can 

take steps to limit the damage.

When notifying individuals, the FTC recommends you:

• Consult with your law enforcement contact about 

the timing of the notification so it doesn’t impede 

the investigation.

• Designate a point person within your organization 

for releasing information. Give the contact person 

the latest information about the breach, your 

response, and how individuals should respond.
7

• Consider using letters (see sample on page 10), 

websites, and toll-free numbers to communicate 

with people whose information may have been 

compromised. If you don’t have contact information 

for all of the affected individuals, you can build

an extensive public relations campaign into your 

communications plan, including press releases or 

other news media notification.

• Consider offering at least a year of free credit 

monitoring or other support such as identity 

theft protection or identity restoration services, 

particularly if financial information or Social Security 

numbers were exposed. When such information is 

exposed, thieves may use it to open new accounts.

State breach notification laws typically tell you what 

information you must, or must not, provide in your breach 

notice. In general, unless your state law says otherwise, 

you’ll want to:

• Clearly describe what you know about the 

compromise. Include:

» how it happened

» what information was taken

» how the thieves have used the information 

(if you know)

» what actions you have taken to remedy

the situation

» what actions you are taking to protect 

individuals, such as offering free credit 

monitoring services

» how to reach the relevant contacts in your 

organization 
8

Consult with your law enforcement contact about what 

information to include so your notice doesn’t hamper 

the investigation. 

• Tell people what steps they can take, given the 

type of information exposed, and provide relevant 

contact information. For example, people whose 

Social Security numbers have been stolen should 

contact the credit bureaus to ask that fraud alerts 

or credit freezes be placed on their credit reports. 

See IdentityTheft.gov/databreach for information 

on appropriate follow-up steps after a compromise, 

depending on the type of personal information that 

was exposed. Consider adding this information as 

an attachment to your breach notification letter, as 

we’ve done in the model letter on page 10.

• Include current information about how to recover 

from identity theft. For a list of recovery steps, refer 

consumers to IdentityTheft.gov.

• Consider providing information about the law 

enforcement agency working on the case, if the 

law enforcement agency agrees that would help.

Identity theft victims often can provide important 

information to law enforcement. 

• Encourage people who discover that their 

information has been misused to report it to the 

FTC, using IdentityTheft.gov. IdentityTheft.gov will 

create an individualized recovery plan, based on 

the type of information exposed. And, each report 

is entered into the Consumer Sentinel Network, 

a secure, online database available to civil and 

criminal law enforcement agencies.

• Describe how you’ll contact consumers in the 

future. For example, if you’ll only contact consumers 
9

by mail, then say so. If you won’t ever call them 

about the breach, then let them know. This 

information may help victims avoid phishing scams 

tied to the breach, while also helping to protect 

your company’s reputation. Some organizations 

tell consumers that updates will be posted on their 

website. This gives consumers a place they can go 

at any time to see the latest information.

Model Letter

The following letter is a model for notifying people 

whose Social Security numbers have been stolen. 

When Social Security numbers have been stolen, it’s 

important to advise people to place a free fraud alert 

or credit freeze on their credit files. A fraud alert may 

hinder identity thieves from getting credit with stolen 

information because it’s a signal to creditors to contact 

the consumer before opening new accounts or changing 

existing accounts. A credit freeze stops most access to a 

consumer’s credit report, making it harder for an identity 

thief to open new accounts in the consumer’s name.
10

[Name of Company/Logo] Date: [Insert Date]

NOTICE OF DATA BREACH

Dear [Insert Name]: 

We are contacting you about a data breach that 

has occurred at [insert Company Name].

What Happened?

[Describe how the data breach happened, 

the date of the breach, and how the stolen 

information has been misused (if you know).]

What Information Was Involved?

This incident involved your [describe the type 

of personal information that may have been 

exposed due to the breach]. 

What We Are Doing

[Describe how you are responding to the data 

breach, including: what actions you’ve taken 

to remedy the situation; what steps you are 

taking to protect individuals whose information 

has been breached; and what services you are 

offering (like credit monitoring or identity theft 

restoration services).]
11

What You Can Do

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 

recommends that you place a free fraud alert 

on your credit file. A fraud alert tells creditors to 

contact you before they open any new accounts 

or change your existing accounts. Contact any 

one of the three major credit bureaus. As soon as 

one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the 

others are notified to place fraud alerts. The initial 

fraud alert stays on your credit report for one 

year. You can renew it after one year.

Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services

or 1-800-685-1111

Experian: experian.com/help or 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-help

or 1-888-909-8872

Ask each credit bureau to send you a free credit 

report after it places a fraud alert on your file. 

Review your credit reports for accounts and 

inquiries you don’t recognize. These can be signs of 

identity theft. If your personal information has been 

misused, visit the FTC’s site at IdentityTheft.gov to 

report the identity theft and get recovery steps. 

Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on 

your initial credit reports, the FTC recommends 

that you check your credit reports periodically so 

you can spot problems and address them quickly.

You may also want to consider placing a free credit 

freeze. A credit freeze means potential creditors 

cannot get your credit report. That makes it less 
12

As noted above, we suggest that you include advice that is 

tailored to the types of personal information exposed. The 

example below is for a data breach involving Social Security 

numbers. This advice and advice for other types of personal 

information is available at IdentityTheft.gov/databreach.

likely that an identity thief can open new accounts 

in your name. To place a freeze, contact each of 

the major credit bureaus at the links or phone 

numbers above. A freeze remains in place until 

you ask the credit bureau to temporarily lift it or 

remove it. 

We have attached information from the FTC’s 

website, IdentityTheft.gov/databreach, about 

steps you can take to help protect yourself from 

identity theft. The steps are based on the types 

of information exposed in this breach.

Other Important Information

[Insert other important information here.]

For More Information

Call [telephone number] or go to [Internet 

website]. [State how additional information or 

updates will be shared/or where they will be 

posted.]

[Insert Closing]

[Your Name]
What information was lost or exposed?

Social Security number

☐ If a company responsible 

for exposing your 

information offers you free 

credit monitoring, take 

advantage of it.

☐ Get your free credit reports 

from annualcreditreport.com. 

Check for any accounts 

or charges you don’t 

recognize.

☐ Consider placing a credit 

freeze. A credit freeze 

makes it harder for 

someone to open a new 

account in your name.

• If you place a freeze, be 

ready to take a few extra 

steps the next time you 

apply for a new credit 

card or cell phone — or 

any service that requires 

a credit check.

• If you decide not to 

place a credit freeze, at 

least consider placing a 

fraud alert.

☐ Try to file your taxes early 

— before a scammer can. 

Tax identity theft happens 

when someone uses your 

Social Security number to 

get a tax refund or a job. 

Respond right away to 

letters from the IRS.

☐ Don’t believe anyone who 

calls and says you’ll be 

arrested unless you pay 

for taxes or debt — even 

if they have part or all 

of your Social Security 

number, or they say they’re 

from the IRS.

☐ Continue to check 

your credit reports at 

annualcreditreport.com. 

You can order a free report 

from each of the three 

credit reporting companies 

once a year.

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

IdentityTheft.gov

Optional Attachment

Also, consider enclosing with your letter a copy of Identity 

Theft: A Recovery Plan, a comprehensive guide from the 

FTC to help people address identity theft. You can order the 

guide in bulk for free at bulkorder.ftc.gov. The guide will be 

particularly helpful to people with limited or no internet access. 
For More Guidance From the FTC

This publication provides general guidance for 

an organization that has experienced a data breach. 

If you’d like more individualized guidance, you may 

contact the FTC at 1-877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338). 

Please provide information regarding what has occurred, 

including the type of information taken, the number 

of people potentially affected, your contact information, 

and contact information for the law enforcement agent 

with whom you are working. The FTC can prepare its 

Consumer Response Center for calls from the people 

affected, help law enforcement with information from 

its national database of reports, and provide you with 

additional guidance as necessary. Because the FTC 

has a law enforcement role with respect to information 

privacy, you may seek guidance anonymously.

For additional information and resources, please visit 

business.ftc.gov.

Federal Trade Commission

business.ftc.gov

February 2021