After reading the provided article regarding seasonal employees
and security risks I would agree with the authors assertions
regarding seasonal employees and the cybersecurity risks in the
workplace. Bonderud mentions in the article that “The first step
in mitigating potential employee risk is to implement a solid
onboarding and integration processes [1]. He goes on to
mention that this includes keeping hiring practices consistent
including interview practices, background checks, and the
onboarding process. I believe this is important to make seasonal
employees feel like part of “the team”, potentially giving them
fewer reasons to engage in malicious activities. This can be
especially true in the hospitality industry where employees such
as valet drivers or front desk workers have access to customer
data such as credit card information and drivers’ licenses.
c c c c c c c c c c Protecting company data is also a major concern
when hiring seasonal employees who need access to this data to
do their jobs. Bonderud also explains in the article that it is
important to only allow access to data or information that is
needed for a specific role or responsibility. For example, a front
desk employee at a hotel would need to access customer
booking information while a newly hired line cook should not
have access to this information.
c c c c c c c c c c There are several steps managers can take to reduce
security risks associated with hiring seasonal or temporary
employees. First, managers should engage with their seasonal
employees making sure they are being treated fairly and have
the right training and resources to do their jobs correctly. I
believe the Secure Computer User course would be helpful for
those employees who have access to computer systems and
company data, so they understand how to use them in a secure
way. Managers and IT staff also need to insure seasonal
employees only have access to minimal amounts of data that is
needed to complete their job functions. This includes setting up
proper access control permissions and the deprovisioning of
accounts when employees leave. Finally, as Bonderud mentions
in the article, it’s a good idea to have seasonal employees sign a
nondisclosure agreement clearly stating that they have no claim
to corporate data and forbidding the transmission or duplication
of this information outside necessary business use [1].
c c c c c c c c c c c c Managers can show leadership in cybersecurity
defenses and best practices in several ways. First managers
should adopt a security conscious culture. This includes creating
an environment where employees are aware of their importance
for the protection of the business and encouraged to share
ideas about cybersecurity [2]. Managers must also implement
effective security awareness training programs. “Whether by
accident or intent, many employees are often the root cause of
successful cyberattacks” [3]. An effective security awareness
training program can help to mitigate these risks.
References:
[1] Bonderud, Douglas. November 2, 2016. “Seasonal Employee
Security Risks: Present Danger, Proactive Defense”. Retrieved
from: https://securityintelligence.com/seasonal-employee-security-
risks-present-danger-proactive-defense/ March 22, 2022.
[2] Brecht, Daniel. February 19, 2019. “10 Steps Leaders Can
Take to Improve Cybersecurity in their Organization”. Retrieved
from: https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/topic/10-steps-
leaders-can-take-improve-cybersecurity-organization/ March 22,
2022.
[3] Bissell, Kelly and Ponemon, Larry. “The Cost of Cybercrime”
Page 9. Retrieved from:
https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-96/Accenture-2019-
Cost-of-Cybercrime-Study-Final.pdf March 22, 2022.
