Recruitment companies are prime targets for hackers. The nature of a recruitment company means that the business houses hundreds, if not thousands, of people's data. You probably have personal data from other companies, job seekers and your own team of employees: just think how much data your company has access to.
Hackers will be itching to get their hands on this data. After all, the more people there are to hack, the more there is for hackers to gain.
But what will happen if your recruitment company becomes the victim of a cyberattack?
· Employers might choose to work with another company – the employers you work with might choose to work with another recruitment company. The trust between you could be damaged if any of their sensitive data has been put at risk.
· Job seekers might look for work elsewhere – new job seekers might not be willing to share their information with your company if they hear about the risks, while existing candidates might choose to continue their job search elsewhere.
· You could break the trust of your employees – your employees need to trust that they are in good hands. If they don't feel safe while working for your company, they might look for a new role with another company, maybe with one of your competitors.
· You'll have a host of regulatory obligations and potentially a huge bill to pay!
How can you improve your recruitment company's security?
Now you know what's at stake, what can you do to protect your company? At OnSecurity, we want to make sure that you and your employees are protected. That's why we've compiled a list of things you can do to improve your recruitment company's security.
1) Implement Robust Attachment Policies
One of the biggest weak points within an recruitment organisation is the amount
of attachments flowing through the business. New CVs, job briefs, invoices etc. These can often be from unknown sources and consultants will click links or open attachments without a moment's thought.
We highly recommend implementing file scanning for all attachments as well education around suspicious links
2) Educate and train staff
One of the best ways to ensure your employees are protected against cyberattacks is to raise awareness of the risks. Try educating and training your staff through emails, newsletters, presentations and workshops.
3) Use a strong password policy
Oftentimes within a recruitment agency, IT is responsible for password creation which then never gets changed.
Introducing a strong password policy is a quick and easy way to protect yourself, your company and your employees from cybercrime. Make sure all passwords are unique and contain a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. It is important to never use the same password for multiple accounts – if you do, then hackers will only need one password to access all of your accounts and the data they hold!
ALWAYS change or delete a user's credentials when they leave the business.
4) Implement Two-Factor Authentication
Using Two-Factor Authentication is a great way to protect any confidential data in your network. Two-Factor Authentication works by asking users to provide two pieces of information to access an account. Common factors are a combination of something the user knows (such as a password) and something the user has (such as a smartphone). For example, instead of immediately gaining access to their accounts with a password, your employees will have to provide a second piece of information (such as a code sent to their smartphone) to confirm their identity. Implementing Two-Factor Authentication acts as a second layer of protection and will help protect the sensitive information of employers, job seekers and your own employees.
6) Check your network security for vulnerabilities
Identifying and patching weak spots in your network security is vital for protecting your company. Weak spots in your network will be the first targets for cybercriminals, so it is important to assess your network regularly.
7) CRM logs and Privileges
It's not unknown for disgruntled consultants to download data to take to another organisation. There is no need for most users to be able to download copies of your data. This is made more difficult if you are operating from spreadsheets as it becomes difficult to track user activities.
We therefore recommend investing in a secure CRM solution with robust access privilege and logging options.
