There are plenty of liabilities that plague the recruitment industry. As you screen, interview, and train prospective employees, you need to be careful at every step of the process. Most recruiters are familiar with the liabilities that accompany hiring, but few are aware of the risks that can emerge before the hiring process even begins. Did you know, for example, that many companies lack sufficient cybersecurity for recruiting agencies? Indeed, there are many web-based vulnerabilities that can leave recruiters open to liability. Consider the following four solutions.
Invest in Safety Solutions
One of the most basic levels of protection you can invest in is anti-virus and anti-malware software. These solutions are typically added to individual computers rather than entire websites, but you can still protect your website by installing protective software on the servers that host your website. If you use a hosting service, as many people do, check with your provider to ensure that your website is adequately protected against the most common types of malware and virus attacks that could compromise information submitted by job applicants.
Proactively Train Employees
Another key component of security is adequately training your staff. This is particularly important if your employees have access to confidential information that’s submitted by job applicants. Make sure that your staff are aware of potential web threats that can compromise this data — and ensure that they’re just as proactive about cybersecurity as you are. You can start by instructing staff on the identification of common threats such as malware, phishing attempts, and network hacking. With employees on the lookout for these threats, you can reduce your company’s vulnerability.
Install an SSL Certificate
There are many reasons why recruiting sites need cybersecurity. One of the top reasons, though, is the liability that can result when sensitive candidate information is compromised. Installing an SSL certificate is an effective way to defend against this possibility. SSL certificates are comprised of code that encrypts a site visitor’s connection and protects any information that is communicated through the connection. The can massively reduce the likelihood of information being compromised and thus protect a recruiting website from one of the most urgent vulnerabilities.
Only Ask for Information You Need
Though you can take steps to reduce vulnerabilities, you can never entirely eliminate them. Cybercriminals dedicate their lives to capturing sensitive information from web users, and unfortunately, this can make recruiting websites a target. In addition to protecting against such threats, then, recruiters should minimize the amount of sensitive information requested from job applicants. Requesting information such as birthdates and social security numbers is typically unnecessary, and its creates an avoidable risk. Staffing liability insurance can help cover the costs of data breaches, but it’s better to avoid them in the first place.
About World Wide Specialty Programs
For the last 50 years, World Wide Specialty Programs has dedicated itself to providing the optimal products and solutions for the staffing industry. As the only insurance firm to be an ASA commercial liability partner, we are committed to that partnership and committed to using our knowledge of the industry to provide staffing firms with the best possible coverage. For more information about Staffing Professional Liability Insurance or any other coverage, we have available to protect your staffing business, give us a call at (877) 256-0468 to speak with one of our representatives.