I don’t know about you, but I miss the good old days…back when an HR Recruiter’s biggest IT concern was making sure a new hire signed and abided by the Acceptable Use Policy! With so much cybercrime happening elsewhere, it was only a matter of time before the work of HR Professionals became a target. Last month Check Point Software Technologies shared its discovery of a ransomware campaign designed to separate HR professionals from their cash!

Before we continue, let’s go over the basics. Malware is generally defined as a software program that is intended to damage or disable a computer or system. Ransomware, a type of malware, is designed to block access to a system until a sum of money is paid. That’s right… it can hold your files hostage!

Check Point reports that the ransomware attack usually begins with a brief email from someone posing as a job applicant. The email contains two attachments. The first is a PDF containing a cover letter, which has no malicious content and is designed to “lull the victim into a false sense of security.” The second is an Excel file with malicious content that, when opened, asks the victim to enable content which allows macros to run.

When the unsuspecting recruiter clicks “enable content,” the code inside the macro executes and begins “the process of encrypting the files, denying the victim access to his or her files.” After all files are encrypted the victim gets a ransom note before the computer reboots and starts encrypting the hard disk.

In the end, the victim will be unable to access any files unless a ransom of approximately $1,000 is paid to an untraceable online account.

The research done by Check Point so far has all been overseas, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t on its way.

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure” certainly applies here. While we can’t offer any fool proof remedies, here are a few basics that will help:  

1. Make sure your computer security/anti-virus/anti-malware software is up to date.
2. Don’t open anything suspicious from unknown senders.
3. Don’t enable macros on MS Office documents.
4. Consider uploading attachments from unknown sources to a cloud-based server instead of opening them directly from your computer.
5. Revisit your backup process to ensure files are backed up frequently.

If there are any trust issues in the employee recruitment process, they’re usually from the perspective of the recruiter. Is this candidate embellishing their resume? Providing false information? Leaving out an arrest record? As representatives of our employers to those who want a job, our trustworthiness is rarely called into question, especially with those just entering the workforce straight out of college. Until now. Thanks to some industrious scammers who have figured out a way to make money from folks looking for a job, the almost blind-faith exhibited by most job seekers may be a thing of the past.

The FBI issued an alert late last week announcing that employment scams targeting college students who are seeking employment are prevalent. According to the FBI notice the scammers advertise phony job opportunities on employment websites aimed at students and recent college grads or send emails to this population recruiting them for fictitious positions. These particular employment “opportunities,” however, lead to a financial loss for the job seekers.

Here’s how the scam works: Scammers post online job advertisements soliciting candidates for administrative positions. Once a position is accepted, the new “employee” will be told that they have to purchase work related materials (software, hardware, etc) in order to begin the onboarding/training process. They are told that they employer will pay for these materials but that they must be ordered from the approved vendor. The new “employee” receives a check that they deposit into their personal bank account. They are often told to take a few hundred dollars as their first pay but to use the rest to purchase the materials from the employer approved vendor. Most often these purchases are done electronically. So the new “employee” deposits the check and uses the money before the bank confirms that the check is fraudulent.

Consequently, the new “employee’s” bank account may be closed due to fraudulent activity (not to mention the report to law enforcement and/or the credit bureau). They are also responsible for reimbursing the bank the amount of the counterfeit check. The true icing on the cake, however, is that they have most likely given the fake employer all of their private, personal information, making them very susceptible to identity theft.

If you’re thinking there’s no connection between this and your organization, think again. Sometimes the recruitment postings and emails actually appear to be from companies who are both reputable and familiar. Unless the candidate looks closely at the domain name and double checks to be sure it is the same domain used by the company, any organization can be used as a disguise.

Remember our earlier post about employer branding? This type of scam makes it even more important to establish an employer brand – even if you’re a small business! In addition to safeguarding your reputation as an employer and serving as a value proposition to employees, it may also be what you need to establish trust with new recruits!