Phished and Exposed: Your Business Response Playbook for Credential Compromise

🧯You Got Phished. Now What?

How to respond when credentials are compromised and browser passwords are exposed

What’s Going On in Tech Right Now?

Phishing attacks are getting smarter—and Aussie businesses are feeling the sting.According to the ACSC, over 90% of successful cyber incidents in SMBs start with a single phishing email. But what happens after someone clicks? Most businesses panic. Some do nothing. Few know the right steps to stop the damage.

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What This Means for Your Business

If a staff member enters their Microsoft 365 login into a fake login page—or a Chrome extension scrapes saved browser passwords—it’s not just their account at risk. It could expose:

• Client data
• Email threads
• Cloud file shares
• Bank credentials
• Other team logins (if reused passwords)

And if you don’t act quickly, attackers can escalate from one compromised account to full business disruption within hours.

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Here’s What You Need to Know

When credentials are exposed, you need to assume the worst and move fast. Here’s what makes phishing so dangerous:

• Credential stuffing: Attackers try the stolen login across banking, HR, CRM, and cloud systems
• Browser password harvesting: Saved credentials in Chrome, Edge or Firefox can be exfiltrated and decrypted
• MFA bypass: Many phishing kits now mimic MFA prompts or steal session tokens
• Silent mail rules: Inboxes get set to forward sensitive data to external emails

And no, just changing the password isn’t enough.

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What You Can Do Right Now

Here’s your immediate Phishing Damage Control Checklist:
🔐 Force password resets — for the affected account and any other accounts using the same or similar credentials
🧠 Identify affected systems — M365, Xero, email, cloud storage, browsers
👁️ Check for silent mailbox rules — especially forwarding or redirect rules
🌏 Revoke active sessions — through M365/Azure and browser logins
🔍 Run Conditional Access audits — block risky logins, geographies, or unmanaged devices
🧹 Clear saved browser passwords — and migrate to a secure password manager
🛡️ Alert your MSP — to investigate logs, run endpoint scans, and monitor for post-exploit activity
Optional but smart:
🗂️ Notify stakeholders or clients if data may have been accessed
📄 Log the incident for compliance and future insurance claims

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A Real-Life Example

A small accounting firm in regional Victoria had a team member phished. They updated the password… but didn’t check browser-saved credentials.
Within days, the attacker logged into Xero using Chrome-stored passwords and changed the bank details on outgoing invoices. Clients paid the wrong account.
It cost them $36K and a massive hit to trust. All avoidable with the right steps.

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The Bigger Picture

This isn’t just about “clicking bad links.”
It’s about building muscle memory for digital crisis response.
Done right, your team can isolate threats, limit damage, and stop attackers in their tracks before it becomes a breach.
It’s also critical for Essential Eight maturity, insurance compliance, and customer trust.

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Why This Matters More Than Ever

Phishing isn’t going away. But its damage can be.
The faster you respond, the less it costs you—in money, reputation, and compliance risk.
Having a playbook isn’t optional anymore. It’s your business continuity plan.

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✅ Quick Win of the Month

Check if Chrome or Edge has saved passwords:
Settings → Autofill → Password Manager.
Delete anything business-critical and move to a secure password vault like Bitwarden or Keeper.

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✅ Ask the Expert

Q: We use MFA—aren’t we safe from phishing?
A: Not always. Modern phishing kits can steal session tokens after MFA. That’s why browser password audits and Conditional Access are essential.

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👉 Not sure your response plan is strong enough?

Book a free 15-minute Incident Response Audit — so your team knows what to do before it’s too late.
Book Here