Cyberattacks devastated my business!

From a small startup that was hacked by Anonymous to a cleaning firm that fell prey to a Nigerian scam, these five small businesses explain how cyberattacks hurt their firms.

Malware drew call from FBI

cyber attack alyssa dver
  • Company: Mint Green Marketing

When the FBI contacted Alyssa Dver last February, she thought it was a prank.

"They said my website had been compromised and they needed to talk to me about it," said Dver.

Her company, Mint Green Marketing, which she founded 10 years ago, provides marketing expertise to small businesses.

Two FBI agents came to to her office to explain that her business website, which primarily provided information about her and her company, had been infiltrated by "really bad people" who were putting malicious codes into her site's file structure. Also unbeknownst to her, security filters had been blocking access to her website.

Dver said the FBI didn't tell her what was in the code or who was involved.

"They wanted access to my site to observe where the traffic was coming from," she said.

The FBI then advised her to rebuild the site, Mintgreenmintmarketing.com, from scratch. The rebuild cost her a few thousand dollars.

"It was very painful," said Dver, who's still feeling the residual effects of the experience: Some internet providers are still blocking the URL for security reasons.

"I could be losing business if potential clients are trying to reach the website but can't," said Dver.

  @CNNMoney - Last updated May 29 2013 07:46 AM ET

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