Relocation and moving companies are particularly at risk from cyber attacks owing to the level of personal data they hold.
If a breach occurs, human error is often a key factor. In this article, solicitor Tom Pimenta from Penningtons Manches Cooper looks at HR’s role in minimising the risks.
Recent guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has shown substantial increases in breaches of employee data (at a five-year high to 2023), with ransomware attacks specifically showing the biggest rise.
Many recent breaches were aided by human error or recklessness from employees, with some rare cases caused by malicious intent from those within a business. It is now, more than ever, vital that HR works closely with IT to minimise the risk for businesses of data breaches and cyber security attacks.
What are the common causes of data breaches?
Human error plays a big role. Sending an email to the wrong recipient or clicking ‘reply all’ by mistake are easy things to do. If the email contains sensitive information, such as a response to a particular employee’s medical report, then this can lead to a serious breach.
Staff may be tricked into clicking an unsafe link which exposes the organisation to malware. If those in your supply chain are hacked, then this can make it even harder to recognise a socially engineered fake demand from a key client for urgent payments, or confidential files. The rise in deepfake technology means that fake phone calls and even fake video calls can appear genuine. This poses a much greater risk that staff unwittingly assist bad actors pretending to be their bosses or clients to steal data or money.
The rise of remote working poses further risks. Using personal devices and/or public Wi-Fi is less secure when compared to working on a company device within the office. Breaches can occur when staff log in at, for example, a café, without using a virtual private network (VPN). Additionally, if someone’s personal account has a virus, then logging into personal emails or social media accounts on a work computer can expose it to the same virus.
Employers also need to guard against deliberate acts ...
Photo: Tom Pimenta.
Click here to read the full story in The Mover magazine.