Let’s face it – the companies of today have a big problem on their hands when it comes to protecting their data.
One single breach can prove devastating, rapidly destroying hard-earned trust between a business and its customers.
Ask yourself – how would you feel if your personal data fell into the wrong hands because a company didn’t take enough precautions?
Most likely you would feel violated, let down, and full of mistrust – leaving you to jump ship to a competitor.
As such, safeguarding data isn’t just a technical issue for companies, it’s a moral obligation and a business imperative.
While almost every company has to contend with the issue of data security, not many play with the same stakes as HiBob.
The multi-national HR platform holds thousands of employee records for its clients: bank details, social security numbers – basically a hacker’s dream haul.
And sure, while strong defensive tools are incredibly important for platforms like HiBob, insider threats are equally, if not more of a danger when it comes to safeguarding sensitive company data.
That’s why HiBob’s strategy heavily focuses on people, culture, AND technology. Let’s unpack that strategy together.
The Evolving Nature of Insider Threats
Most of us tend to picture an angry or disgruntled employee purposefully stealing company data when we think of insider threats.
Someone out for revenge, right? Yet, while this certainly does happen from time to time, the reality of the situation is far more complex.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), defines insider threats as anyone within an organisation that holds authorised access who may – even accidentally – use their privileges to harm the organisation.
And yes, this does of course cover deliberate sabotage, but it also covers mistakes such as falling for phishing scams, or accidentally logging on to a compromised WiFI network.
Think of it like this: a well-meaning, loyal employee clicks a bad link, and suddenly hackers infiltrate your company systems.
Bad news! But while this is entirely accidental, a data breach is a data breach, no matter how it happened. Especially in the eyes of the customer.
HiBob Vulnerability Mitigation: The Inside Out Approach to Security
Alongside more overt hacking attempts, insider threats clearly stand as a significant HiBob vulnerability that needs to be addressed.
Let’s take a look at some of the steps the HR software provider puts in place to mitigate this risk.
Cultivating A Culture Of Cybersecurity Competence
First and foremost, HiBob understands that human error is a huge factor in data breaches.
No matter how proficient we think we are, we are ALL liable to make errors, take shortcuts through laziness, or merely fall for a sophisticated deception when we have our defenses lowered.
The only real way to combat this is by cultivating a culture of competence around cybersecurity, and that’s what HiBob strives for. They go beyond basic phishing awareness courses and tick box exercises.
Staff members get in-depth training on social engineering, regulations, password hygiene – the whole nine yards.
While this may seem like basic stuff to the more technically savvy, the truth is that a company’s security is only as strong as its weakest link.
Through repetition and yearly refreshers, this awareness becomes second nature, helping employees spot red flags more quickly and avoiding costly mistakes.
HiBob believes that an ounce of prevention and employee awareness training is worth a pound of tech fixes in terms of human error.
Encryption: The Necessary Shield For Remote Work Era
There is no denying that remote work is here to stay, and HiBob knows that it’s going to need extra protection if it’s going to keep its defences secure.
With this in mind, they use multi-level encryption to secure everything – transmission, storage, and access.
They also use industry standards such as TLS and AES256, plus AWS security, to generate more layers of defence. This allows the global team to work from anywhere, safely.
Need-to-Know Access: Limiting Risk
Compartmentalization. It sounds like a fancy word, but it simply means that people only have access to the information that they absolutely need to in order to get their job done.
The benefit of this method is that if one employee does go rogue, or if one employee does end up making a vital mistake, the ramifications will not be so drastic.
Only the information they had access to will be leaked. While still not ideal, it lowers the stakes and risk exposure for each individual staff member.
For HiBob, this means that accounting only gets the payroll data, HR only sees relevant personnel files, etc. IT is the team responsible for managing these access levels.
Trust Starts with Careful Hiring
Following on from the previous point – who actually gets access matters! During the initial recruitment phase, HiBob runs background checks on all potential hires.
They make sure everyone is who they say they are, and they ensure that they go the extra mile when hiring people for extra-sensitive roles.
New hires must sign a mandatory NDA, as do contractors with data access. This drives home the importance of data protection from day one.
By being picky upfront, doing their due diligence, and setting expectations upfront, HiBob keeps the fort locked down securely and establishes a culture where data security feels like second nature.
Parting Thoughts
By tackling insider threats proactively, HiBob is not just protecting their data, but they are protecting their client’s trust.
This kind of commitment makes them a stand out example and a solid case study for any business that places high value on the long-term health of their customer relationships.
