HR has always protected core employee data in CVs, performance reviews, and payroll information. However, the adoption of data analytics to inform business decisions and boost productivity can lead to exponential growth in HR's data acquisition activities. As the amount and diversity of this sensitive data grows, so does the potential fallout of a breach that would expose it.
In this article, we examine seven crucial safeguards human resource departments should implement for secure employee data handling and access
Create a Comprehensive Data Collection Policy
A data collection policy provides the baseline for all collection and handling efforts. It outlines what data is to be gathered, its uses, and the protocols HR staff should enforce regarding access, storage, modification, and eventual deletion. Adhering to this policy streamlines data handling and guarantees only necessary data is stored.
Finally, the policy should be transparent. Employees have legal and moral rights, especially if they fall under the protection of laws like the GDPR, to know what data gathered on them will be used for and to have the opportunity to access and amend the data within reason.
Use Data Encryption
While HR and IT teams can do much to make company systems and networks more resistant to attacks, no method or combination of methods is foolproof. That's why employee data must be encrypted.
Encryption uses sophisticated algorithms to turn plain text information anyone can interpret into unreadable cipher decodable only with a decryption key. HR teams can use tools to encrypt the data locally or have third-party cloud storage providers handle encryption at rest.
Some data needs to be decrypted during transit, which would leave it open to interception. Using a VPN whenever sensitive data needs to be transferred ensures that it travels through an encrypted connection and remains intact.
Establish Robust Access Controls
Governing who has access to employee data significantly reduces breach risks associated with human error and malicious insider threats. Adopting a role-based access control lets HR professionals administer access to data under their protection granularly by establishing different user classes.
Most users should only be able to access resources and files needed to fulfill their roles. Meanwhile, a select few trusted professionals have the authority to alter or revoke permissions as employees enter, advance in, and leave your workplace.
Enforce the Use of Strong Passwords
Role-based access is only effective if associated accounts are adequately protected. After all, an admin-level account whose password is short, used elsewhere, or easy to guess is a liability rather than a security measure.
Mandate that all employees use long, complex passwords containing special characters and a mix of lower and uppercase letters. Better yet, set up a business password manager to automate password creation, secure storage, and periodic changes for all accounts.
Multi-factor authentication, either via one-time codes or by verifying the user’s biometric data, will also benefit the most sensitive accounts. This second step in the authentication process prevents stolen and breached passwords from providing unauthorized access while providing an opportunity to reset these passwords and neutralize the threat.
Perform Regular Audits
While many HR data safeguards can be automated, regular audits are prudent measures for identifying vulnerabilities and assuring compliance. Audits reveal much, from data inconsistencies to identifying security vulnerabilities and irregular patterns indicative of tampering or malicious intent.
Ensure Secure Access to Company Networks
The shift away from physical lockers to digital storage allows HR professionals to perform their work remotely. They must do so conscientiously, as accessing company resources without proper precautions could put them at risk.
Specifically, there’s no guarantee employees won't use unsafe networks like public Wi-Fi when connecting remotely. Rather than take the chance or impose unwelcome restrictions and surveillance, it’s better to require remote employees to learn what a VPN is and how to use it for secure access from anywhere.
A good business VPN must employ strong encryption protocols to ensure data security and not keep logs of user activity. It should align with data privacy regulations and scale as your HR department grows without impacting performance. Finally, the VPN should protect users from phishing and malware downloads by identifying and blocking malicious websites.
Create an Incident Response Plan
Attackers are constantly adapting their strategies to circumvent existing cyber defenses. Sadly, that means experiencing a data breach despite your best efforts is a small yet real possibility. Planning for it now will put you in a much better position to handle the crisis swiftly and efficiently if and when it happens.
To that end, you should draft an incident response plan. It’s a set of guidelines outlining the responsibilities team members will assume and the steps that need to be taken to resolve the situation. The plan covers identifying and containing the threat, assessing the damage, informing stakeholders, and monitoring post-incident.
Conclusion
As businesses collect more data on their employees and increasingly leverage artificial intelligence to glean unique insights into their behaviors and motivations, HR’s stewardship of this data is becoming more crucial and complicated. Following steps like the ones outlined here will put your HR team in a better position to meet such challenges.
