The Security Risk of Downloading Employee Data to Your Computer

HR and benefits professionals regularly work with files containing employee information. Enrollment reports, census files, payroll reports, eligibility lists, dependent information, and billing reports may need to be downloaded to complete a particular task.

The problem is what happens to those files afterward.

Downloading a report may take only a few seconds, but the file can remain on a computer for months or even years. Over time, Downloads folders, desktops, and local drives can accumulate copies of sensitive employee information that are no longer needed. Each unnecessary copy creates another place where information could potentially be accessed, lost, or exposed.

A Download Creates Another Copy of the Data

When employee information is maintained within a secure benefits, HR, payroll, or other business system, it is generally protected by the security controls associated with that system. Downloading the information creates a separate copy outside that environment.

Depending on the file, that copy could contain employee names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, compensation information, benefit elections, dependent information, banking information, or health-related information.

Even when downloading the information is necessary and authorized, retaining the downloaded copy indefinitely may not be.

The Downloads Folder Is Easy to Forget

One of the most common problems is also one of the simplest. An employee downloads a report, uses it for the intended task, and then forgets about it.

Months later, the report may still be sitting in the computer’s Downloads folder. The employee may not remember that it exists, and the information may no longer be current or necessary.

The same problem occurs when files are saved to a desktop for convenience or when multiple versions are created while working on a project. A single report can quickly become several unnecessary copies of the same sensitive information.

Local Files Can Increase the Impact of a Security Incident

Unnecessary local files can make a security incident more serious.

If a computer, account, or device is compromised, information stored locally may become accessible to an unauthorized person. A security incident that otherwise might have affected only limited information could become more significant because years of old employee reports were unnecessarily retained on the device.

This is one reason data minimization is an important part of information security. Organizations should not only consider who can access sensitive information, but also how much information is being stored and where it is being kept.

Download Only What You Need

Before downloading an employee report, consider whether the information actually needs to leave the system.

If a task can be completed securely within the application, downloading a separate file may not be necessary. If a download is required, consider whether the report can be limited to the employees and data fields needed for the particular purpose.

For example, if a task requires only employee names and enrollment status, there may be no reason to download a report containing Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other sensitive information.

Delete Files When the Work Is Complete

Employees should periodically review their Downloads folders, desktops, and other local storage locations for files containing employee or other confidential information.

If a file is no longer needed and there is no business, legal, or record-retention requirement to keep the local copy, it should be securely deleted in accordance with the organization’s policies. If information must be retained, it should be stored in the appropriate approved location rather than left indefinitely on an individual’s computer.

Employees should also avoid keeping multiple copies simply for convenience.

Good Security Includes Good Data Housekeeping

Protecting employee information is not limited to passwords, encryption, multi-factor authentication, and cybersecurity technology. Everyday decisions about where information is downloaded, stored, and retained also matter.

Before downloading employee data, ask three questions: Do I need to download this information? Do I need every piece of information included in the file? And when I am finished, do I still need to keep it?

Keeping sensitive information only where it is needed, for as long as it is needed, can reduce the amount of employee data exposed if a security incident occurs.