Why Protecting HR Systems Matters More Than Preventing Customer Data Leaks

What’s worse than a customer data breach? When hackers get to an organization’s HR system and steal employee information. The HR system contains the entire workforce’s information—money information like pay, personal information like social security numbers, and sensitive health information. In a security breach, employee lives will be irreparably damaged through the improper use of their sensitive information, as opposed to a customer experience and annoyances. Let’s break down the complexity of HR data breaches over customer data breaches.

HR Systems Hold Everything About You​

When many people think of a data breach, they think of a company’s credit card numbers or email addresses stolen. An HR system contains much more potent information than a credit card number, including:

• Full name, phone number, and home address
• Social security or other identification numbers
• Bank and salary information
• Health and background check information
• Job history and internal notes

More commonly used HR systems are much more personal than obtaining customer email addresses. If hackers obtain sensitive HR information, they don’t only have your phone number—they would have access to your life history. Think about the implications of someone able to track your salary or health information online.

Why Does It Hurt More? Identity Theft​

When card information leaks, you are able to cancel it and get a new card. Extremely inconvenient; however, it is manageable. When personal HR info leaks, it sticks with you for life. You cannot simply change your ID, or job history.

My friend had his HR account hacked once. A few weeks later, someone tried to get a loan in his name and company. The inaccurate information was so accurate that it worked. That's how detrimental HR data can be when it ends up in the wrong hands.

So, what's worse-a stolen card, or a stolen identity that lingers for years and years?

It Destroys Trust, Not Just Money​

When customer data leaks, companies apologize, and move on. When employee data leaks it is personal. These are human beings who trusted their company with their identity and private information. Once trust is lost, it cannot be rebuilt.

Employees start to think, "Can I trust my organization with my data?" "Is my bank account safe?" "What about my family's information?" All of this worrying deflates the team spirit and inherently makes everyone feel unsafe at work. And when this happens, the companies lost a whole lot of brand value and trust with employees.

What Companies Can Do to Keep Safe​

To safeguard HR data, companies should:

• Encrypt all HR files to prevent hackers from reading them.
• Provide access to only those who truly need it.
• Perform regular security assessments to identify vulnerabilities.
• Create awareness to help employees recognize fake HR emails or scams.

Keeping HR systems secure involves more than simply using strong passwords — it involves real conscientiousness and good practices

Final Thoughts​

Customer data leaks make headlines, but when HR leaks occur, they affect real people. They expose lives, not only data. If a company provides the same level of protection to employee data, as they provide to customer data, they will provide the one thing that matters most; trust.

So the next time someone says it's "only HR data," ask them if they would like to see their salary and ID number on the dark web. I think not.