Is cyber security HR’s problem?

As organisations adopt new technologies such as cloud-based systems, mobility software and desktop virtualisation, more information is being stored online. This data is vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Gartner, an IT research company, state that due to the increase in adoption of new technologies, information security spending will reach $71.1 billion by the end of the year. This is an increase of 7.9 percent over the year. The fastest growth over this period (18.9 per cent) will be recorded in the data loss prevention segment.

Gartner predicts that by 2015 around 10 per cent of overall IT security capabilities will be delivered in the cloud. However, there will be a lag in the demand for mobile security services. Demand for this product is not expected before 2016.

Recent research from the University of Michigan shows that mobile platforms pose a security risk for businesses through hacking of mobile applications. The researchers attempted to hack seven popular apps that use shared memory. Their method had a success rate of 82 per cent to 92 per cent on six of the apps, including Gmail, CHASE Bank and H&R Block.

In an August 25 article on HC Online, Head of Cyber Security Asia Pacific at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence Craig Searle outlined HR’s responsibility to managing cyber security in an organisation.

Mr Searle said that HR professionals should be aware of their legislative and regulatory obligations regarding data, such as knowing the appropriate measures for removing an employee’s information once they have left the company.

“There has to be a culture of security at every level of the organisation and employees should not feel anything other than support if they identify poor behaviour in the information security space,” explained Mr Searle.

HRMS software is one tool that can be used to identify risks in your organisation and ensure compliance.