Technological advancements make our lives better as living in a digitized world people benefit from processes automation and instant access to information and communication. Humanity is highly dependent on digital technologies, and today they become an integral element of almost any life aspect, from education to employment. That’s why this full reliance hides many risks, as in case of a security breach, people will be left helpless.
When speaking of the human resources industry, cyber security becomes extremely important in modern conditions. With the Covid-19 pandemic, many employees switched to remote working which makes it vital for an employer to ensure a secure working environment. It requires a careful examination of software and programs used as well as teaching employees basic cyber security rules and HR training.
It was studied that recruiting is a vulnerable point of a company that cyber fraudsters may use for malicious intentions. They are open for new candidates receiving massive amounts of data from different sources, one of which can be detrimental for your company.
In this article, we will find tips on how to safeguard your enterprise from cyber attacks from an HR perspective.
Main Cybersecurity Threats Businesses in 2022 Face
There are so many cases of cybersecurity breaches in recent times that every company should care more about their safety. It may happen anytime, so employees need to recognize the thread and respond to it immediately.
We know of many situations when employees were not aware of some cyberattacks that resulted in sensitive data being exposed. We distinguish eight types of cyber attacks that an HR should recognize: malware, Emotet, denial of service, attacks on RDP software, man-in-the-middle (MITM), phishing, SQL injection, and password attacks.
In 2022, businesses should be prepared to face cyber attacks as technologies are developing and hackers widely use them to undermine companies' security to steal valuable data. It is predicted that ransomware attacks will grow in the coming year since they were frequently observed in the last years.
Another threat to be prepared for is phishing, as this type of cyber attack is the most effective and hard to detect. Companies should protect their passwords and undertake measures to make them hard to decipher. And the most crucial advice is to protect remote desktop software from cyber frauds. It’s reported that the number of these attacks has grown since the pandemic.
Tips for HR to Avoid Cyber Attacks
We have prepared for HR specialists four effective tips that will help them detect and overcome cyber attacks easily without exposing the company’s private data to danger. It is reported that cyber-attacks occur hundreds of thousands of times per day, and one day it may happen to you and your business. Follow these pieces of advice and be protected.
#1 Stay Vigilant
It’s crucial to be always ready to face a cyber-attack and know how to respond to it correctly. An HR specialist should keep their eyes open when receiving new applications as some emails may pose a threat to the company’s security system.
Phishing is a cyber-attack type resulting in stealing private data through emails. It is a sophisticated form of deceiving the email recipient, making them open the file, follow the link, download something on their device as it’s found in the email they expect. Fraudsters launch phishing attacks on businesses using special kits.
HRs receive dozens of letters from different people, so it may be challenging for them to detect the attacker. But there are some rules to consider when receiving an email from an unknown sender.
Firstly, an HR manager should be prudent when following links attached to the letter and always check their spelling. It may be sent from a source a person knows and trusts, but there will be some oddities and discrepancies requiring personal data input or payment.
There is plenty of decent security software that will protect your employees from cyberattacks, especially phishing. All company private data must be protected by multi-factor authentication so that even if a cybercriminal gets to it, they will not be able to open it.
If HR opens a malicious link or downloads a file, they should report it to the security center within your company and update the security software.
#2 Create a Backup Strategy
Cyber fraudsters use sophisticated methods to attack the company's private data, but there is an efficient solution to avoid that. HR specialists dispose of massive amounts of data, for example on a company’s employees that makes them a sensitive target. Therefore, they should always have all crucial information backed up so that ransomware does not endanger the business.
Ransomware is the practice of installing malicious software on a victim’s device. It may happen when HR receives an email from a job applicant and clicks on a file in the attachment that installs the software. A good backup for the computer is the best way to avoid data loss.
How does computer backup work? It helps you restore the device to the point it was before a malicious attack. Make data copies and store them in a safe place like an external hard drive, cloud storage, or encrypted flash drive.
However, an attacker may reach backup data if you simply make file copies but do not protect them correctly. Thus, to ensure your backup is safe, use data encryption and keep three backup copies in two different mediums. Besides, it’s crucial to test backups regularly to detect your vulnerabilities and improve them before the attacker finds a way to benefit from them.
#3 Mind Privacy Consents
HR specialists are responsible for the creation of a strong cyber security culture. They should be aware of basic security rules and inform new employees about them. Here it means HR notify employees of main privacy rules and ask if they permit the company to process their private data. Data privacy consent is an essential element of a company’s security system. It is a basis for data protection in many fields.
Employees and HRs can receive an email requesting privacy consent, but they should not rush to accept it. It is a way a cyber attacker may get to their private data and use it for their malicious intentions. By giving consent, you give a fraudster the opportunity to control and choose over how your personal data is processed.
In order to avoid this risk, be careful when giving consent and always read the information on what they are going to access. It’d be better to not disclose your data and check sources asking for this consent.
#4 Work With Incident Response Experts
An HR manager is not a versatile expert in any field, and it’s enough for them to follow basic security rules and be prudent. But it’s important that a company has a special employee monitoring the security situation.
Incident response experts test your company’s security system to see what is to be improved. The incident response team is built on people and technologies. We know that there are experts testing your company’s preparedness for an attack and helping deal with them. And also multiple layers of security tools that can assist with incident response. You can benefit from traffic analysis, vulnerability scanning, security information, etc.
They help companies to prepare for responding to cyber attackers and provide special skills for overcoming cyber challenges. Besides, you will see how fraudsters operate to be ready for such attacks and keep everything under control. Your company employees will always be able to get in touch with the expert in case of a cyber breach. It’s crucial to get external help from an expert when it seems that everything is lost.
Final Thoughts
Therefore, we may conclude that an HR specialist is an important person within the company, responsible for maintaining corporate culture and security. Organizations should definitely take measures to safeguard their business from cyber fraud. However, HRs contribute to the overall employees' experience and trust. Follow the above-listed tips and constantly work on your company's security to avoid facing cyber-attacks.
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