The enemy within: the inherent security risks of temporary staff

Since the credit crunch and the subsequent tentative recovery, there has been a boom in the use of temporary staff. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) Labour Market Outlook Survey last year, employers reported that 29% of new recruits will be employed on this basis. 1 There is a growing issue with fraudsters taking positions with companies as temporary staff with the sole intention of learning their systems and procedures so they can later commit fraud. The risk of fraud has been exacerbated by the growth of ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) on many company networks. IT departments need to effectively control BYOD users, especially temporary ones, and look at what privileges temporary staff are given, explains Ching Liu of Control Risks.