Offboarding New Hires from Apps: Data and File Access Governance

Failing to securely offboard employees can expose your business to a number of risks, including unauthorized access to sensitive information, data leaks, and compliance violations. A structured offboarding process ensures that employees lose access to all company systems and documents, and that any risks are mitigated before they become incidents.

This article will guide you through best practices for Data Access Governance, File Access Governance, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) during the offboarding process, ensuring that your company’s sensitive data remains protected even after employees have left.

Why Offboarding from Collaboration Apps is Critical

Collaboration apps have become indispensable tools for modern business operations. Employees use them to share files, communicate in real time, and access critical company data. However, if an employee leaves the company and still retains access to these apps, this could lead to serious risks, such as:

• Unauthorized access to sensitive data: If former employees still have access to the collaboration tools, they may inadvertently (or intentionally) access confidential company files.

• Data leaks: Improperly offboarded employees could copy, share, or delete sensitive documents, leading to potential data breaches.

• Compliance violations: Regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX mandate strict controls over data access. Failing to revoke access in a timely manner could result in non-compliance and lead to fines or legal action.

A well-executed offboarding process protects your organization from these risks by ensuring that former employees no longer have access to systems, files, or communication channels that contain sensitive business information.

Key Steps for Secure Offboarding from Collaboration Apps

1. Revoke Access to Collaboration Apps Immediately

The first step in the offboarding process is to immediately revoke access to all collaboration apps upon an employee's departure. This minimizes the risk of unauthorized access to company systems and data.

Best Practices for Access Revocation:

• Centralized user management: Use a single identity management system (e.g., Active Directory or Okta) to manage user access across all collaboration apps. This allows you to disable or delete user accounts from all systems at once.

• Two-step authentication revocation: Ensure that any linked two-factor authentication (2FA) devices are removed or disabled when offboarding. This includes revoking access to MFA apps or email addresses used for verification.

• Check for third-party app access: Some collaboration apps may allow integration with third-party tools or services (e.g., Trello, Dropbox). Ensure that all third-party app integrations linked to the employee’s account are also disabled.

By taking these steps, you reduce the risk of unauthorized access and ensure that the former employee can no longer log in to any system.

2. Implement a Robust Data Access Governance Plan

Data Access Governance (DAG) refers to the policies, processes, and tools that control who has access to what data within an organization. When offboarding employees, DAG plays a critical role in ensuring that they are cut off from sensitive company data in a controlled and secure manner.

Key Considerations for Data Access Governance:

• Role-based access control (RBAC): Ensure that the employee’s access permissions have been audited before termination. With RBAC, you can easily disable access to specific folders or files based on their role within the organization.

• Audit access history: Before disabling the employee’s account, review their access history to ensure no sensitive data has been copied, shared, or downloaded inappropriately. This provides an opportunity to identify any suspicious activity prior to revoking access.

• Remove access from shared folders: In many collaboration apps, employees may have access to shared folders or drives that contain sensitive documents. Ensure that their permissions are revoked not only at the account level but also for any shared folders or files.

3. Ensure File Access Governance During Offboarding

File Access Governance (FAG) involves controlling and monitoring how employees interact with sensitive files and documents within the organization. During offboarding, it is essential to secure all files the employee had access to and ensure that their file-sharing capabilities are disabled.

Best Practices for File Access Governance:

• Disable file-sharing permissions: Immediately disable any file-sharing permissions granted to the employee. This includes permissions in cloud storage services like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox.

• Track and audit file downloads: Use your collaboration app’s auditing tools to track any recent file downloads or sharing activities by the employee. This can help identify any potential data theft or suspicious activity before offboarding is completed.

• Ensure no data has been exfiltrated: It’s important to verify that no company data has been transferred or stored on personal devices. Use tools like Data Loss Prevention (DLP) to monitor and prevent unauthorized downloads or transfers before the employee leaves.

By controlling file access and revoking file-sharing permissions, you can reduce the risk of data leaks and ensure that sensitive company files remain protected.

4. Integrate Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Solutions

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools help safeguard sensitive data by monitoring and controlling how it is accessed, shared, or transferred. DLP solutions are essential during offboarding to prevent the exfiltration of data by former employees.

How to Use DLP for Offboarding:

• Monitor data transfers: DLP tools can monitor real-time data transfers within collaboration apps to ensure that sensitive files are not being shared outside the organization. If unusual file transfers are detected, the system can block the action and alert IT or security teams.

• Prevent unauthorized file downloads: DLP solutions can prevent departing employees from downloading sensitive files to personal devices. This ensures that data cannot be copied or exported during the offboarding process.

• Set automated alerts: Configure DLP systems to trigger alerts when departing employees attempt to access sensitive data or perform unusual actions, such as downloading large volumes of files or sending documents to external accounts.

DLP solutions ensure that your organization has visibility and control over how sensitive data is handled during the offboarding process, reducing the risk of accidental or malicious data loss.

5. Collect and Reassign Company Devices

In many cases, departing employees may still have access to company-issued devices, such as laptops, smartphones, or tablets. To maintain control over company data stored on these devices, it is essential to retrieve them and secure any sensitive information.

Steps for Securing Company Devices:

• Device collection: Ensure that all company-owned devices, including laptops, phones, and tablets, are returned as part of the offboarding process. Make this a mandatory step before the employee’s final departure.

• Remote data wiping: If an employee is offboarded remotely or if devices cannot be retrieved immediately, use remote wiping tools to erase sensitive data from any company-owned devices.

• Reassign device access: Once devices are retrieved, disable access to company apps and files. Reassign these devices to new employees with fresh logins and ensure no residual data is left from the previous user.

This helps prevent any remaining access to sensitive information and ensures that the device is secure before being reused or repurposed within the organization.

Common Offboarding Pitfalls to Avoid

Offboarding employees securely requires diligence and attention to detail. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

• Delays in revoking access: Any delays in revoking access to collaboration apps after an employee’s departure can expose your company to unnecessary risks. Access should be revoked immediately upon the employee’s exit.

• Neglecting third-party integrations: Many collaboration apps integrate with third-party tools (e.g., cloud storage, CRM systems). Ensure that access to these tools is also revoked to prevent backdoor access to company data.

• Ignoring the need for audits: Conduct thorough audits of the employee’s recent activities in collaboration apps, including file access, sharing, and download histories. Failing to do so could allow suspicious activity to go unnoticed.

• Failure to educate current employees: Inform current team members that a colleague has been offboarded and remind them not to share company information or grant any unauthorized access post-departure.

Avoiding these pitfalls will help ensure a smooth and secure offboarding process.

Conclusion: Secure Offboarding Protects Your Data

Offboarding employees from collaboration apps is a critical part of protecting your organization’s data and maintaining compliance with security regulations. By revoking access immediately, implementing robust Data Access Governance and File Access Governance policies, and using Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools, you can ensure that sensitive company data remains secure even after employees have left.

Ensuring that devices are returned, access is revoked, and audits are conducted will help minimize risks and maintain the security of your organization’s collaboration apps. Implementing a structured offboarding process will not only protect your data but also safeguard your organization’s reputation in the long term.