We talk a lot about educating employees on network safety. However, once an employee quits your company or is terminated for some reason, some of that “education” can come back to haunt you. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes vindictive former employees can have the power to wreak havoc on your internet security. After all, you entrusted this person with passwords and security keys, essentially giving them the ammunition to harm you if your relationship goes south.
But of course, there are solutions for this dilemma. Any time you have to terminate an employee’s position, or they leave your company of their own accord, follow these seven steps to maintain your network security.
Change passwords. All login information used by that employee, from access to the network to all accounts, should be changed immediately.
Look around the office. Do some of your employees keep password reminders on sticky notes near their desks? First of all, they shouldn’t be doing that anyway, so eliminate that practice. Second, keep in mind that employees can easily learn one another’s passwords this way. It’s also common for employees to share their passwords with other employees. To be safe, have everyone change their passwords when someone leaves the company.
Check computers for extra accounts or users. A particularly sneaky person could create extra user accounts, that fly under the radar, to be used after their employment is terminated. These user accounts should be deleted.
Randomize generic usernames such as “Administrator” or “root”. This way, a common account password cannot be used to gain access across all computers in your network.
Install and use a privilege management system. This limits administrator access to only one computer at a time. The system can also automatically revoke access after contractor work is completed, meaning any temporary contractors can no longer get into your system after they leave.
As always, we’re here to help you secure your networks and protect your business. If you need assistance securing your network after an employee quits, or any time, give us a call at 888-RING-MY-TECH. We can help you with any of the above tasks, or with anything else concerning internet security.
