A departing employee can expose your business to serious security risks if IT offboarding is not handled correctly. Even a small oversight can lead to data breaches, intellectual property leaks, or unauthorised access.
Key Takeaways:
- Revoke access immediately to prevent lingering vulnerabilities.
- Retrieve company devices and ensure no unauthorised data copies exist.
- Monitor system activity for unusual behaviour before and after an employee’s departure.
- Reinforce legal obligations during exit interviews to prevent data misuse.
- Regularly review and improve offboarding policies to keep pace with evolving threats.
Revoke Access Without Delay
The first and most urgent task when an employee leaves is revoking their access to company systems. This includes email accounts, cloud storage, databases, collaboration platforms, and proprietary software. Any delay increases the risk of data theft or sabotage. Using automated deprovisioning tools, such as Okta or JumpCloud, helps ensure immediate and error-free access termination.
Secure Company-Issued Devices
All company-issued devices, including laptops, mobile phones, external drives, and keycards, must be collected before an employee’s departure. For remote employees, arrange for secure collection or shipping. IT teams should inspect devices to ensure no unauthorised copies of sensitive data remain. If any confidential information is found on personal devices, further investigation and data removal may be required.
Monitor for Suspicious Activity
Revoking access and retrieving equipment alone is not enough. Organisations must monitor system logs for anomalies, such as large file transfers, logins from unknown locations, or unauthorised downloads. Tools like Microsoft Defender help detect and flag suspicious activity in real time, allowing for swift investigation and mitigation.
Reinforce Legal Obligations During Exit Interviews
Exit interviews offer a final opportunity to remind departing employees of their legal obligations concerning company data. Reinforcing the consequences of breaching non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and intellectual property policies helps prevent data leaks. Clarity at this stage reduces the likelihood of future breaches and ensures employees understand their responsibilities after leaving.
Update Shared Credentials
Even after revoking individual access, organisations must change shared credentials, reset multi-factor authentication (MFA) settings, and update biometric or keycard access. Even a single outdated credential can be exploited. Tools like 1Password or LastPass make it easier to manage and rotate credentials securely.
Implement a Zero Trust Model
A Zero Trust security approach assumes that no user, inside or outside the organisation, should be trusted by default. Every access request is continuously verified. Solutions such as Zscaler and Cisco Zero Trust help enforce strict access controls, ensuring that former employees cannot exploit lingering permissions.
Encrypt Data and Maintain Regular Backups
Encryption and regular backups are critical layers of protection for your data. Sensitive files should always be encrypted—both at rest and in transit—to prevent unauthorised access. Additionally, maintaining secure, routine backups ensures quick recovery in the event of accidental deletion or malicious activity. JET IT Services provides reliable solutions to help businesses implement robust encryption practices and maintain secure, cloud-based backups tailored to their needs.
Continuously Improve Offboarding Procedures
A strong offboarding process is not static. Cyber threats evolve, and so should your policies. Regular audits and updates are necessary to address emerging risks and technological changes. Automating offboarding reduces human error and ensures consistency. Reviewing past offboarding cases can reveal gaps and areas for improvement.
Case Study: The Importance of Thorough Offboarding
Consider the handling of Ticket 2291:Set up a computer for a new user. In this case, the IT team followed a structured process after an employee’s resignation. They cleared the user profile from the device, removed office account credentials, logged out of the employee’s computer login account, and deactivated the login account on the server. This meticulous approach ensured no lingering access, reducing security risks.
Protect Your Business with Proactive Offboarding
Effective IT offboarding is not optional—it is a crucial safeguard against security breaches. By following best practices, organisations can protect data, maintain compliance, and minimise insider threats. Every departing employee represents a potential risk. A rigorous, proactive offboarding process keeps businesses secure and ensures sensitive information stays where it belongs.
Need Expert Help with IT Offboarding?
Ensuring a secure and seamless IT offboarding process can be complex. JETIT provides expert solutions to protect your business from data breaches and insider threats. Let our team help you implement the best security practices. Contact JETIT today to safeguard your company’s data and IT infrastructure.
About JET IT Services
JET helps businesses in China overcome IT challenges with reliable, compliant, and secure solutions. From network optimization to cybersecurity, we ensure your IT systems run smoothly so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business!