Former employees are a major security threat

If you’re a business owner in the UK, chances are a good portion of your workers are looking for the first opportunity to ditch you.

According to a new report by Ilex International, the identity and access management firm, 59 percent of workers are looking for a new job in 2016. Two reasons are behind this: first that the majority feels underpaid, and the second is that the economy is improving and better prospects are out there.

But that’s not the issue Ilex is tackling -- it’s saying that people leaving work are a security threat for the company staying behind. That’s why the company is urging businesses to put strict security controls in place.

According to Ilex’s report, entitled Staff migration: The security impact to business, 39 percent of large businesses take up to a month to close dormant accounts, leaving a lot of room for opportunistic hackers and disgruntled workers to strike.

Large businesses are doing somewhat better -- 58 percent remove access to data on the day, or even a day before departure.

The company urges businesses to shut down inactive accounts fast, to focus on protecting key data, to track and audit data access and implement a strong identity and access management solution.

"Disgruntled employees or partners are unlikely to wait until a month after leaving to access confidential company information. Access is likely to be sought in a matter of days", warned Thierry Bettini, director of international strategy at Ilex International. "The findings highlight the importance of having a system in place that helps close inactive accounts immediately".

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