How to strengthen the cybersecurity of your recruitment processes

Over time, companies’ processes have become increasingly technological with the advancement of technology, AI, and the dissemination of information. However, despite these advances that have benefited the general population, there are more concerns to consider to guarantee solid cybersecurity in companies.

The technological human resources challenge

In human resources departments, cybersecurity is essential to protect applicants’ sensitive data and guarantee the selection process’s integrity. Giving due importance to this type of security demonstrates a commitment to the privacy of everyone connected to the company and helps prevent possible attacks that could compromise sensitive information.

To this end, the European NIS2 directive was created. NIS2 (Network and Information Security 2) is a directive created to make the internet and computer systems more secure. It is an update of the first NIS directive, which already exists since 2016, but now has stricter rules and extends to more sectors.

Since 17 October 2024, many companies in European countries have been regulated by this directive. This directive regulates many European companies to improve cyber-attack protection, response time, and risk management. According to this directive, companies have to ensure that, when it comes to recruitment, security is reinforced in terms of application platforms and the verification of documents and links received. 

Companies must implement security protocols against fraud to protect both themselves and their candidates. Those not complying with the rules of this new directive are subject to financial penalties and those in charge may even be removed from management.

What kind of cyber-attacks do companies often find?

It is very common for companies to be phished by scammers. This technique continues to be one of the most widely used. According to a Statista survey, in 2021, 3% of employees who received malicious emails in a sample of 3,500 companies worldwide, clicked on the links in those emails.

Although many employees are already aware of the dangers of phishing, it’s still important to be more careful with these cyber-attack attempts. On the candidate’s side, it’s also very common for scammers to try to pass themselves off as recruiters to access their personal and financial data.

Scammers can also attempt this type of cyber-attack through other means, such as phone calls or text messages. Identity theft and the use of malware are also widely used methods for cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity measures in recruitment processes

Companies, and in particular the HR department, must adopt internal good practices to guarantee cyber security, such as:

• Validation of candidate profiles;
• Verification of senders and documents before opening links or attachments during recruitment;
• Usage of reliable recruitment software;
• Restriction of access to sensitive information to authorised persons only.

Additionally, more general cybersecurity measures include:

• Implementing cybersecurity policies: Inside the company, it’s necessary to establish company-wide regulations and policies that specify what constitutes fraudulent activity and what procedures to follow if it occurs.
• AI and machine learning: As seen in this previous Landing.Jobs article, AI is revolutionising recruitment processes. It’s helping companies to identify false candidate profiles, check the authenticity of documents, and detect suspicious patterns in certain job applications, reducing the risk of fraudulent hires.
• Fraud detection and prevention: In the recruitment processes, companies must ensure that there is continuous monitoring of suspicious activity on the company’s network and abnormal patterns that could suggest fraudulent activity, such as repeated applications with similar credentials or inconsistencies in submitted documents. It’s important to set up fraud detection systems powered by AI and alert systems for suspicious activity so that a quick reaction can be implemented, a detailed investigation can be conducted, the impact can be minimized and future occurrences can be avoided.
• Access management: Limiting access to recruitment platforms is essential to prevent data and access from being accessed and leaked. Prevention measures should be implemented, for example, multi-factor authentication and restricting access to candidate information and accounts to only a selection of authorised professionals.

Threat response and recovery

Companies that prioritise cybersecurity prevent fraud, strengthen their image as employers, and guarantee a secure recruitment process. Ensuring data protection, cybersecurity, and GDPR compliance will also contribute to building a trust-based relationship between employers and candidates.

If cyber-attacked, a company must act promptly, immediately trying to figure out what information may have been compromised. Any compromised access should be blocked and all the relevant authorities should be alerted. Internally, it’s also essential to be transparent and inform employees of what occurred in a clear and organized way, not provoking panic and showing how the company is addressing the matter.

In conclusion, cyber security in all company processes, especially in recruitment processes, must be strengthened as it involves access to a large amount of sensitive third-party data.