How to Handle Cybersecurity
Posted July 27th, 2015
Cybersecurity is an issue that has been getting a lot of attention recently. The most notable cause for this attention is the recent breach of government computer systems where hackers gained access to millions of government employee records.
No one is safe from such threats, according to IT experts. Everyone needs to pay attention to cybersecurity; its importance cannot be minimized. Hackers can do tremendous damage even if they get basic information like old street addresses or Social Security numbers. People who handle such information, especially human resource specialists, need to take care to make sure they do it properly.
Cybersecurity experts said HR people need to be especially careful when they transfer employee information through email. This is a risky thing to do, according to experts, and it offers a tempting target for hackers. It also presents legal problems for companies if such information is compromised.
If HR people are transferring employee information through email and there is a security breach, it is the HR department that will be held accountable. So, HR needs to take steps to insure the safety of sensitive employee information.
The best way to go about doing this is by working with other departments to create a cybersecurity framework, according to experts. This teamwork approach would include HR, the IT department, the legal department, and representatives of company leadership, all of whom would come together to develop procedures and security guidelines to protect employee data. Each department would contribute its expertise to the group as a whole. Human resources would lay out what kind of information they use as part of their daily work, the legal department would determine what information, if compromised, would present a legal risk to the company, the IT department would put the technology in place to minimize the risk of security breaches, and the company leadership would provide the funding.
True cybersecurity requires this teamwork approach. It would fail without each one of these pieces of the puzzle in place.
Security experts also emphasize that every employee in the company needs to understand the importance of cybersecurity, why information needs to be handled with care and proper procedures and how to carry out those procedures.
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