Five HRMS security threats you need to be aware of in 2016

Security threats can cause concerns around your HRMS and the sensitive data that it holds. As technology evolves so quickly it can be a struggle to stay on top of it. Here are five areas to watch out for, so that you can take steps to protect your HRMS and related areas.

1. The expansion of mobile HRMS

Mobile HRMS is becoming the expectation rather than the exception as employees and managers gain familiarity with using mobile devices for sensitive data transactions. Hackers and identity thieves are always eager to find any source for valuable data so remain vigilant in this area on multiple fronts: your core HRMS, your mobile features and any mobile device security flaw that threatens to open a door to your mobile HRMS.

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2. The extension of cloud computing

Software as a Service (SaaS) is proving popular in the HRMS space as many companies adopt these solutions and vendors develop further in this area. Cloud providers go to great lengths to secure their products. It is up to you to ensure that your company’s computers and mobile devices are meeting the minimum HRMS security standards defined by the vendor and not creating a potential threat.

3. The move toward social HRMS

Social HRMS presents many opportunities to engage and connect employees and to recruit talent. It can allow for greater visibility into who does what at a company, what they look like, and through cyber stalking a malicious employee can begin to piece together where a rival is located and when they are posting or away from their desk. As a result, we need to be more aware of traditional physical controls such as locking laptops, using screen savers and logging out of applications.  

4. Big data

Big data has been making headway in the HRMS area as companies recognize its power to identify trends by compiling data into the HRMS from previously disparate sources. Big data helps to provide insight into your employees and how they are doing their jobs and can predict previously unknown data, such as who will resign in the next three months. Big data can be very powerful, but we need to take caution that it is not overstepping its boundaries into an employee’s personal life.

5. Overwhelming information

It can be tempting to put as much data as possible into the HRMS, but in doing so you run the risk of users not being able to retrieve necessary information when they need it. If you can’t retrieve key employee certifications due to them being hidden under a clutter of non-vital data you run the risk of managers assigning tasks to underqualified employees, opening your company up to revenue loss, decreased productivity and, in the worst-case scenario, potential lawsuits. Therefore, as you design and configure processes, always ask the question, ‘what is the benefit to the business if we capture and maintain this data’ to justify the long term efforts.