A cyberattack on payroll and HR systems can expose personal employee details and financial business information: a treasure trove for criminals, and can bring companies to their knees through regulatory fines, reputational damage, and derailing operations.
“Criminals are targeting payroll and HR staff. They may trick or force them with personal info or make them think they’re aiding the CEO.
“Ransomware attacks can encrypt payroll systems. Treating payroll and HR cybersecurity as optional is like leaving your front door wide open in a dangerous neighbourhood,” says Sandra Crous, Managing Director at Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace.
Securing these high-value business areas and their people reduces your business risks. With interventions ranging from personal training to using modern software, here are four tips to protect your payroll and HR from cybercrime.
Understand the risks faced by payroll staff
Payroll staff are high-value targets due to their access to sensitive information. If criminals steal that information, they can commit theft, fraud, identity theft, and much more.
Criminals target payroll staff in various ways. They can flood them with phishing attacks that steal passwords or provide unauthorised access to systems. They can launch social engineering campaigns that target staff personally.
They may even find ways to exhort and coerce staff into doing their bidding. Do not underestimate the ruthlessness of online criminals who target payroll staff and the lengths they will go to.
Provide security training for payroll and HR staff
Once you appreciate that payroll and HR staff are the gatekeepers of important information, you can help them with security training. All staff should receive training on security fundamentals, such as good security hygiene practices and how to recognise phishing messages and scams.
Then, add training tailored to payroll staff. Let your payroll and HR staff collaborate with security trainers to build skills that match internal processes and policies. This training is not just rote—it should include psychological resilience and provide supportive, not punitive, reinforcement of solid security instincts.
Involve security staff
Digital security teams often have little in common with payroll or HR staff, and there is a natural tendency for them to walk separate paths. But this is a mistake. Security teams help reduce cyber risks across the business, and collaboration between security and payroll and HR professionals is incredibly effective.
There are various points where the two sides can connect. They can jointly discuss payroll and HR responsibilities, especially around data management. They can focus on common goals such as reducing payroll errors and maintaining compliance.
They should meet regularly and create a common appreciation for the value each brings to the table. This synergy will help develop stronger, pragmatic, and productive security.
Use modern software
Even the best training and collaboration will crumble if the underlying software is outdated and lacks appropriate features. Isolated payroll or HR software is a single point of failure that criminals can conveniently breach, encrypt, and corrupt.
Traditional payroll and HR software lack many crucial modern features and will keep falling behind. Cloud-native platforms address security shortcomings. Their account management provides nuanced and low-risk access to administrators, managers, and executives.
The platform’s developers automatically apply security upgrades without disrupting operations.
Business and security teams have access to detailed logs and audit trails exposing criminal and fraudulent activities. Cloud-native software also enables staff to complete tasks, make approvals, and access reporting securely from anywhere.
Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace, revolutionises payroll management. It offers online, multi-country payroll and HR management for businesses from start-ups through to enterprises in over 40 African countries, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Brazil.
Cloud-native Deel Local Payroll is scalable, configurable, highly secure, and easy to use—delivering anytime, anywhere access. It features payroll automation, self-service, automatic legislative and feature updates, customised reporting, and more.
Since 2024, Deel Local Payroll has been part of Deel, operating as an independent subsidiary, serving its customers through the PaySpace platform.
