- [Narrator] From a security perspective,
hiring a new employee is one of the most
important decisions that an organization makes.
The insider threat is real.
An organization's employees have privileged access
to all kinds of sensitive information and systems.
Of course, it's impossible to filter out
all of the bad apples,
but organizations have a responsibility to ensure
that security plays a prominent role in the hiring process.
Spending a little extra time on security issues
before hiring an employee
can help avoid costly mistakes.
Every organization should perform
preemployment screening to verify
the backgrounds of potential hires.
The timing an contents of this screening will vary
based upon the type of organization,
the job position, and legal constraints
in the specific state or country
where the employee is hired.
Some common components of preemployment screening
include checking for a criminal background
in all states and countries where the employee
has lived or worked,
verifying that an employee is not listed
on the sex offender registry.
This is often a mandatory part
of preemployment screening for positions
where the employee will work with children,
such as in a school or childcare facility.
Checking references provided by the employee
as well as using personal contacts
at past employers to learn more
about a job candidate.
Verifying that the educational and employment experience
on a resume is accurate by contacting schools and employers.
And in some cases, organizations may perform
credit checks to further investigate
an employee's background,
although obtaining and using this information
requires written consent of the employee
and is heavily regulated,
so many organizations skip this portion
of background checks.
Organizations should use written employment agreements
that spell out the employee's responsibilities
in many different areas.
For the purposes of the exam,
you should know that this may include
security-related responsibilities.
Two specific areas that organizations
should consider including in employment agreements
are nondisclosure agreements or NDAs,
where the employee agrees not to disclose
any confidential information learned
during the course of employment
even after the employee leaves the organization,
and asset return agreements,
where the employee agrees to return
all of the organization's property
at the end of employment.
This should include both information
and physical assets.
Finally, employers should use
the hiring and orientation process
as an opportunity to familiarize employees
with the organization's security policies
through training and perhaps a written acknowledgement
from each new hire that he or she
has read and agrees to the organization's security policies.