How Firing Staff Could Present a Security Risk for Your Business

Unfortunately, every business has to let people go from time to time. Whether down to cost-cutting or because of poor work ethic, letting someone go is rarely a decision that’s taken lightly. The reality is, getting rid of staff can be a security risk for your business. We’re going to look at why – along with how to deal with it.

Security breaches depend on the type of employee, and why they were fired

Security breaches present themselves in a number of ways. Whilst most members of staff will leave your business professionally, some will be bitter and upset. The wrong type of person might want to get back at the business just for some personal revenge, or they might want to make some extra money for themselves. That’s where security breaches can be most likely to occur – in the sale of important information to rivals or criminals.

Secure your building

If your building has a secure entrance, you might need to change the code for it. This should be done on a regular basis anyway, but especially after a member of staff has left. You’d be surprised how many people forget to revoke access for personal swipe-entry cards of those who no longer work for you. Don’t make it easy for ex-employees to re-enter the building (or sell access to criminals).

If your former employee walks out of the building with sensitive or valuable information, this can also be a problem. While it might be difficult to prevent in some cases, there are steps that can be taken to lessen your risk. You can’t prevent workers keeping things stored in their head, but you can secure their access to specific data or important files.

Secure the cloud

Cloud computing has grown hugely in recent years. The cloud can be great for business – but it’s also important that you keep it secure at all times. If a former employee still has access to your DropBox then they could steal important data. DropBox encryption services can help prevent this. With the right security software, your cloud can be protected from former employees, along with a number of other potential security breaches.

Access to certain users can be revoked quickly, easily and remotely. That means you can turn off access to certain employees and computers – or block access at certain times. Making sure your cloud is secure is important for your business. Not only can former employees cause a problem with unsecured clouds, bust lost or compromised computers could also lead to data falling into the wrong hands. That’s why you need a secure cloud – where all your security solutions are available at the press of a button.

Don’t risk the future security of your business, make sure your cloud is protected today.