Critically important privacy: how did they shoot a hole in the headhunter's shield?

A Hungarian headhunting company recently faced serious data leakage problems — along with a serious loss of prestige — whose database of potential employees revealed the personal information of thousands of IT professionals. The source of the embarrassing incident was the fault of an external developer, the case highlighted cybersecurity gaps as well as the complexity of handling confidential data. The experts of our company also shared their thoughts on what happened.

A bounty hunting company announcementclarified that an external developer was commissioned to design a company management system, but due to the developer's mistake, the data was transferred to a public GitHub repository. While the company responded relatively quickly and began working with cybersecurity professionals to minimize the damage, they are currently suffering an invaluable loss of prestige and trust. Further aggravating the problem is that — the Telex's reportAccording to — the employees of the headhunting company, in addition to the sensitive personal data themselves, also made not very tasteful comments about potential employees, and of course these were also leaked.

An instructive story about companies' data management responsibilities

D. Our colleague István László, United Consult (UC) cybersecurityAccording to the head of his business, the case clearly shows one of the greatest challenges of modern companies: the adequate protection of confidential data. “The incident was not only damaging to the company's reputation, but also raised serious cybersecurity and information protection issues,” the business manager stressed. He stressed that it is not enough to protect data only with technical means, but also to think about complex solutions.

“Cybersecurity is not only a technical issue, it is also process-driven: proper testing, control of access rights and transparency of data management processes are essential for the safe operation of a company,” said our colleague. Adequate data protection is clearly the responsibility of companies, and according to GDPR regulations, companies that do not take the issue seriously can face fines of many millions of euros.

D. According to István László, the use of a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) could significantly reduce the risk of such cases; by the way, just a few weeks before the data leak incident we wrote in detail.

“MSSPs provide specialized services that include constant system monitoring, threat detection, access management, and compliance with privacy regulations. These providers are constantly updating security systems, monitoring network activities and responding immediately if a potential threat is detected,” our colleague added.

Enhanced protection of CRM systems and data

Krisztián Vénkuti, UC Salesforce ExpertAccording to him, CRM systems already carry significant cybersecurity risks due to their huge databases, so protecting them is a serious challenge for companies.

“Data protection is becoming more and more important as companies store more and more customer data in CRM systems and integrated data solutions in CRM systems, such as personalized communications, personalized offers, and a higher level of customer experience, in order to meet ever-increasing customer needs,” our expert shared his experience.

He pointed out that companies can effectively use AI-based solutions that have exploded recently, but this also requires a wide wealth of data on which models can learn and work. This broader and more complete wealth of data also carries a greater source of danger, which must be addressed with ever more sophisticated tools and with increasing awareness.

The bounty hunter was disarmed

Our experts therefore believe that the case of the headhunter company clearly highlights that without rethinking cybersecurity and data management processes, no company is immune from similar incidents. Putting in place appropriate cybersecurity protocols, as well as involving external experts, such as the involvement of an MSSP, is essential to prevent similar incidents in the future.

For more information, privacy tips and personal advice, contact our cybersecurity and CRM experts at our company, Contact details for United Consulton any of them!