Most small businesses don’t plan to get hacked, but failing to prepare for a breach can make the damage worse. The question isn’t if your business will face a cybersecurity incident, but when. This breach planning guide provides small business owners with the essential steps to prepare for and respond to a cyberattack, reducing downtime, protecting sensitive data, and avoiding legal and financial consequences.

At SofTouch Systems, we help businesses across Texas create customized breach plans that are simple, actionable, and built to keep you running, even when systems go down.

Why You Need a Breach Plan

Small businesses are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. From ransomware and phishing to insider threats and vendor compromise, the risks are real and growing. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, over 60% of breaches now impact small to midsize organizations. FTC Breach Response Toolkit

Having a documented, tested response plan in place ensures:

• Rapid recovery of operations
• Reduced financial loss
• Protection of customer trust
• Legal and regulatory compliance
• A clearer, calmer response when crisis hits

This breach planning guide walks you through exactly what to prepare in advance.

Step 1: Build a Breach Response Team

Before a breach happens, assign a core team of responders with clearly defined roles. Your team should include:

• IT/Security Lead: Coordinates technical response and containment
• Executive Point of Contact: Makes business decisions and manages resources
• Legal/Compliance Advisor: Ensures proper documentation and reporting
• Communications Lead: Handles public messaging, customer updates, and media relations
• Third-Party Support: Include your MSP (like STS), backup providers, and insurance contacts

Maintain an up-to-date contact list, including after-hours numbers, and keep a printed copy in case of system failure.

Step 2: Define What Constitutes a Breach

Not every incident is a full-scale breach. Clarify the events that would trigger your breach response plan, such as:

• Unauthorized access to customer or employee data
• Compromised credentials or leaked passwords
• Malware or ransomware detection
• Unusual login or network activity
• Suspicious behavior from an insider or third-party vendor

By clearly defining thresholds, your team can react decisively when real threats arise.

Step 3: Identify and Classify Your Critical Data

You can’t protect what you haven’t mapped. Work with your IT provider to document:

• What data you store (e.g., financial records, medical data, contracts, client lists)
• Where that data resides (cloud storage, file servers, endpoints, etc.)
• Who has access to it
• Which data is regulated (HIPAA, PCI, etc.)

Classify your systems and data by priority. During a breach, recovering essential systems like billing, payroll, or client communications should take precedence.

Step 4: Document Containment & Recovery Procedures

When a breach occurs, the first step is containment. Your plan should include:

• How to isolate infected devices or servers
• How to revoke compromised credentials
• How to shut down remote access or third-party integrations
• How to activate backups and business continuity solutions
• When and how to restore affected systems safely

Make sure your breach planning guide includes instructions that non-technical staff can follow in an emergency.

Step 5: Prepare Communications Templates

Clear, timely communication during a breach reduces panic and protects your brand. Prepare pre-approved templates for:

• Internal teams
• Clients or partners
• Vendors
• Regulators or law enforcement
• Public/media (if necessary)

These should include an incident summary, what actions are being taken, and how affected parties will be updated going forward.

Step 6: Test Your Plan Regularly

A plan is only effective if your team knows how to use it. Schedule biannual breach simulations or tabletop exercises to:

• Review each team member’s role
• Test decision-making under pressure
• Ensure recovery procedures are up to date
• Uncover weaknesses in your documentation or tools

Involving STS in these drills can help you refine your breach planning guide using real-world scenarios and emerging threats.

Step 7: Post-Breach Review

After every incident, whether minor or major, schedule a post-mortem meeting to review:

• What happened and how it was detected
• What worked and what failed in the response
• What data or systems were affected
• What needs to change in your policies or tools
• How long it took to return to normal operations

Update your breach planning guide accordingly.

SofTouch Systems Can Help

We provide end-to-end support for breach prevention, detection, and recovery. Services include:

• Breach planning and documentation
• Endpoint and network protection
• Secure backup and disaster recovery
• Employee security training and simulations
• Real-time incident response support

We don’t just offer tools, we build custom response systems tailored to your specific risk profile, industry regulations, and team size.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

A breach doesn’t have to be a catastrophe. With the right plan in place, it can be a contained event instead of a business-ending crisis.

Book your free breach planning consultation with STS today and gain the peace of mind that comes with being prepared.