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Do You Put Your Data in Easy Access of the Wrong Employees?

UK Businesses Blind to the Data Breach Risks of Temporary Staff

Survey reveals new data security risk: over 80% of temporary staff have the same level of access to company documents as permanent staff but without the same accountability.

CHERTSEY, Research released today by Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBSN) has revealed that temporary workers across the UK are unwittingly exposing businesses of all sizes to information security breaches. In the Information Open Access survey of more than 100 temporary staff, the findings indicate that organisations may be unnecessarily putting their data at risk by granting temporary staff access to confidential information at the same levels as permanent employees.

For the entire article go to www.topix.net

Corra is aware that this article is written in reference to practices in the UK. But if you think it is really any different in the US, think again. Companies spend thousand, hundreds of thousands of dollars deploying video monitors, firewalls, and all sorts of security systems, only to then hire someone who can walk off with proverbial store.

It is tough enough trusting all of your permanent employees with sensitive databases and proprietary information. What with changes in fortune, employees with substance abuse issues, gambling habits, bad divorces or wanton spending, it is no surprise that some workers will commit to desperate and stupid moves.

But if you are trusting a temp worker with your sensitive data, it’s akin to trusting a new babysitter with the combination to your safe. You are not only being lax with security you are tempting someone to make a stupid and costly move.

Chances are you are running pre-employment screening checks on your permanent workers. If you are not, considering the cost of rehiring and the liability issues, etc., it’s a real good time to start. And what about your temps? You think you are saving money by not checking them out before you allow them access to proprietary materials? Let them steal something of value, something maybe irreplaceable, or information you don’t want your competitors to have, and you will soon learn that you are being penny wise and dollar foolish.

You should be running criminal reports on all workers, and credit reports at the very least on those with access to sensitive databases. You should be running Social Security Traces to make sure they really are who they say they are. More and more, they aren’t.

Check them out before you hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.