There’s been a lot of talk in the last year about data protection as multiple companies, such as Experian and food delivery company, DoorDash, have fallen victim to large-scale data breaches. The value of quality cybersecurity isn’t just for the individual, it’s for the company too. It’s a complex and absolutely necessary component of running a business in modern society.
Data protection processes not only safeguard against leaked trade secrets and protect corporate interests, but also mitigate legal repercussions from individual victims of data breaches. As companies hire new employees and put potential candidates through the interview process, employers obtain personal information on the candidates, including social security numbers, background check reports, and in some cases, even credit reports are pulled. A few years ago the EEOC and FTC released guidance for employers regarding safe handling of candidate background reports and hiring data.
Cybersecurity Legal Requirements
According to the EEOC, any and all personnel or employment records must be preserved for one year. This includes all candidates who were considered for an open position but weren’t inevitably hired. It also includes all documents related to their persons – application, background check report, and so on.
Once the year is up, the FTC states in the Disposal Rule that any paper documents must be destroyed by burning, shredding or pulverizing. Any electronic documents must be destroyed to a point they cannot be reconstructed or read.
Importance of Cybersecurity
By adhering to the Disposal Rule, companies mitigate legal risks posed by unsecured personal information falling into the wrong hands. The FTC put this rule in place as a protection for the individual to combat fraud and identity theft and requires businesses to undertake responsible data protection policies. These are just the required steps, but there is more that companies can do to prevent current and former employee or potential hire information from falling prey.
Above and Beyond Cybersecurity
Hire Data Cleaners
Companies are recommended by the FTC to hire professionals to properly dispose of confidential and personal information. By doing so, the company is less likely to incur legal ramifications if an individual’s information is compromised. In a case from 2017, the court sided with the employee who filed suit against their company for improper handling of personal information and the effects of a cyberattack. They stated that “potential liability in the absence of reasonable care provides employers with an economic incentive to act reasonably in protecting employee PII from the threat of cyberattack.”
Convert to Blockchain
There are a few ways blockchain is useful in data security. The blockchain platform ensures your data is encrypted, making changes difficult. You can also save a cryptosignature of documents which provides a useful way of checking for file tampering. It is a decentralized technology meaning there is no single authority or location of data, and as the name suggests, all information is contained on digital “blocks” accessed by multiple computers. This makes hacking nearly impossible.
Hire Hackers
Ethical hacking is a new trend in digital security. These “white hat” hackers, as they’re referred to, utilize their knowledge of computer security to hack into a company’s digital infrastructure to identify weaknesses that “bad guy” hackers could exploit. Of course all regular, safe-hiring protocols should be undertaken when considering this, including a criminal background check.
Utilize Training
Add cybersecurity training to the onboarding process and ongoing training policies. According to a report last year put out by Willis Towers Watson, 66% of data breaches are due to internal employee negligence or misconduct. Employees can be trained on detecting imminent cyberattacks, phishing scam identification, and malware. Arming your employees with information and skills could mean the difference in data safety.
Protecting the data of your company and its employees is essential in today’s modern world. The EEOC and FTC released guidelines on how to dispose of and protect potential candidate and current employee data. Additional steps your company can take to safeguard against data breaches vary in type of technology, corporate ethics, and training. As long as technology advances and “bad guys” exist, there will be a need for strong cybersecurity.
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Critical Research offers employment background screening packages to help your company make smart hiring decisions. We believe in safe hiring practices and secure data handling through an integrated platform. Please contact us to learn more about our end-to-end screening solutions.