A cyber background check is essential as it can help to protect your business and employees from potential cyber threats. Knowing the risks associated with certain employees can be better prepared to protect your business and data from potential harm. Keep reading to learn more about cyber background checks.
What is a cyber background check?
Cyber background checks review a person’s online history for any red flags that could indicate they are not fit for a specific role or position. By conducting a cyber background check, employers can get an idea of what kind of person they are potentially hiring and make an informed decision about whether or not to move forward with the candidate. There are several reasons someone might want to conduct a cyber background check.
For example, if the company is looking to hire a new employee, they may want to ensure that the individual has no criminal history that could put the company at risk. Or, if the company is looking to partner with another business, they may want to make sure that the other business is financially stable and has no history of data breaches.
What is included in a cyber background check?
A cyber background check can reveal various information about an individual, depending on the search type. Generally, a cyber background check will include a search of criminal records, including convictions and warrants, sex offender registries, terrorist watch lists, and social media profiles. Criminal records are typically a list of crimes an individual has been convicted of, as well as any associated court proceedings. Criminal records include arrests, warrants, and other law enforcement information. In the United States, criminal records are typically maintained by the state where the crime was committed.
This means that if you have a criminal record in one state, it may not be accessible by other states or the federal government. However, some exceptions exist, such as the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which maintains criminal records from all 50 states.
Additionally, a cyber background check may include searching public records, such as property ownership and credit history.
Public property ownership records are one of the most critical aspects of the real estate industry. These records are kept by the county assessor’s office and document the ownership of every piece of property in the county. They include the owner’s name, the property’s legal description, and the property’s assessed value.
What industries conduct cyber background checks?
Cyber background checks are used in various industries, including finance, retail, healthcare, and government. Financial institutions use cyber background checks to screen employees for positions that involve access to sensitive data, such as customer account information. Financial institutions are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, and they must take steps to protect their customers’ data. A cyber background check can help identify employees who may be a risk and should not be given access to sensitive information. Some examples of sensitive financial data include credit card numbers, social security numbers, bank account numbers, passport numbers, tax identification numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and more.
The retail industry has always been at the forefront of new technology, including cyber security. They use cyber background checks to ensure that their employees are trustworthy and have a clean criminal history. This is important because retail stores are also a common target for cyber attacks. Some sensitive retail store data examples include customer names, addresses, purchase histories, employee names, and more. The healthcare industry increasingly relies on cyber background checks to ensure patients’ safety and protect their data’s privacy.
Hospitals and health insurance providers are among the most frequent targets of cyber attacks, and as a result, they are some of the most diligent users of cyber background checks. Cyber background checks are also used to screen patients for the risk of cybercrime. For example, a hospital may run a cyber background check on a patient before admitting them to see if they have a history of cybercrime. This can help the hospital protect the privacy of its patients and ensure that they are not susceptible to cyber attacks.
