The most common problems when an employee leaves
Example scenarios? The salesperson leaves, and then customers begin to move on to the competition. The specialist exports confidential documents project files to a private drive. Employee Before leaving, IT deletes some files that no one else had access to.
Risk most often appears in several repeatable situations. One of the most common is copying the customer databasewhich is not only unethical, but above all prohibited by law GDPR. People working in sales or customer service often have access to valuable information: customer data, contact history, commercial conditions, purchasing preferences. It only takes a few minutes to export such data from the CRM system, send it to a private e-mail or save it on a pendrive.
The next scenario is transferring know-how. These may include offers, design documentation, operating procedures or materials developed internally over the years. Often, the employee does not perceive it as theft, but treats the data as his or her work, which he or she takes with him to a new place of employment.
Extremely dangerous for companies Is intentional deletion of information. Before leaving employee may delete files, e-mails or entire directories of data to impede the team’s work or cover up traces of previous actions. The company may only become aware of such a situation after some time, which makes it even more difficult to recover important documents or access to the system.
Analysis of digital traces
What then? It can help you regain control over your data and reduce losses computer forensics. Specialized analysis tools and methods make it possible to recreate lost information and determine the causes of the incident. Because it can be caused by human error, intentional action by an employee or hacking into the company’s IT systems.
It is extremely important that the evidence was secured in a lawful manner. Proper data security is particularly important in the case of internal proceedings or disputes with an employee, because it enables the reconstruction of events, identification of persons responsible and assessment of the scope of the incident.
Conducting a thorough incident analysis allows you to identify security gaps and implement preventive solutions while reducing the risk of similar events in the future. As a result, the organization not only regains access to key information resources, but also strengthens its security – she said Karolina DziokComputer Forensics Specialist with Mediarecovery.
Can the company check what happened?
Many entrepreneurs is concerned that any actions related to trying to find out if employee has not abused his access to data and has not behaved unethically or contrary to regulations, may violate the employee’s rights or privacy. Meanwhile, an organization has the right to protect its resources as long as it operates within the limits of regulations. After leaving company employee can secure company equipment, block access to systems and take control of the company’s e-mail box. These are standard activities related to protecting business continuity.
In most cases, you can determine whether data has been copied, transferred or deleted. As part of computer forensics, we can determine what actions were performed on files or folders – we can check whether the file was opened, copied, transferred, modified or deleted. The analysis also makes it possible to determine the time of the operation, as well as the people who performed it. Such capabilities allow not only to recreate the course of events, but also to assess the potential risk of data leakage or violation of internal procedures – Dziok explained. She noted that everything depends on the conditions we find in a given case. There are many factors that can influence the analysis, e.g. the company’s security policies, system configuration, time since the incident or how well the employee hid traces of his actions. – added Dziok.
Why the first days are the most important
Response time is crucialbecause the faster business takes action, the greater the chance of recreating the events. In the first days after leaving employee you can check the history of file operations, determine what external media were connected, and recover some of the deleted data that may have been accidentally or intentionally deleted. Over time, the marks begin to fade. Systems are updated, devices are reused, and information that could constitute evidence may be overwritten or lost irretrievably and is no longer recoverable.
Therefore, reaction is key in computer forensics – the sooner action is taken, the greater the chance of recovering data, reconstructing the course of events and securing important data in the case. – said the expert.
Apart from typically technical issues, computer forensics it is important to maintain the evidentiary value of the material, which is crucial in court proceedings or in an employment dispute. Therefore if business there are no appropriate rules implemented and its employees do not know how to secure digital traces, it is worth using professional services.
Prevention instead of reaction
Appropriate procedures can help keep you safe companies and improve its risk management readiness. For a moment employee leaving clear procedures for the transfer of responsibilities should be prepared, including a review of access to systems and policies regarding the use of company equipment. This also has a practical dimension. Knowing that the company can professionally secure data and analyze incidents also has a preventive effect. In many cases, the mere presence of procedures and controls reduces the risk of fraud – Dziok summed up.
