Personnel Security Controls: Screening, Hiring, and Training Practices

Personnel security controls form the foundation of an effective information security strategy. Organizations need to understand how to implement and maintain robust security policies that protect valuable assets while ensuring smooth business operations. Well-defined personnel security controls are crucial for preventing security incidents and maintaining organizational integrity.

This guide introduces the essential components of personnel security controls, from screening and hiring practices to training and policy enforcement. While implementing these controls may seem straightforward, mastering their application requires a deep understanding of both security principles and human factors. We'll explore how these practices shape modern security frameworks and prepare organizations for the challenges ahead in their security journey.

What are Personnel Security Controls?

Personnel security controls are best practices and policies that organizations implement to protect their valuable assets through proper management of human resources. These controls encompass every stage of the employment lifecycle, from initial candidate screening to employment agreement to termination. Companies need clearly documented and communicated personnel security policies that are implemented through systematic procedures.

These four example fundamental personnel security controls can help organizations mitigate risks and build a robust security framework. It is important to understand that while these controls can be useful in mitigating risks such as fraud, they may be able to provide other benefits as well.

Job Rotation

Job rotation can be quite useful to protect against fraud and provide cross training. It entails rotating staff (especially individuals in key positions), so that an individual can't commit fraud and cover it up. For example, if someone is a loans officer at a major bank and is responsible for approving loans, they may be able to easily defraud the bank by constantly approving loans for known individuals who pass them money as a reward.

However, if that individual is rotated to another role, this won't be possible. In addition, this helps the organization to build personnel redundancy. If another staff member learns how to perform the loan officer's job, this can greatly help if that individual decides to leave the company.

Mandatory Vacation

Mandatory vacation is a control also used by organizations to detect fraud. Employees are required to go on vacation for a set period of time, during which time another employee can step into the role and determine if any malicious or nefarious activity has taken place or is actively taking place.

Separation of Duties

Separation of duties is used to prevent fraud, by requiring more than one employee to perform critical tasks. A good example of this can be found in the Accounts Payable/Vendor Management department. For new vendors to be set up to receive payments, at least two people are typically involved: one person to enter the vendor or payment information and another to confirm the vendor or approve the check. This way, a check can't be submitted, reviewed, and processed by a single person, giving them an opportunity to commit fraud.

Need-to-Know and Least Privilege

Least privilege ensures that only the minimum permissions needed to complete the work are granted to any employee. Need to know ensures that access to sensitive assets is restricted only to those who require the information to complete the work.

Candidate Screening and Hiring Practices

New personnel may represent a risk to security; every organization needs personnel security policies that address and mitigate this risk with the appropriate level of security controls. Examples of personnel security policies and controls include background checks, access badges, ID cards, what you're allowed to bring in and out of the building, acceptable use policies, code of conduct, employee handbook, and so on.

Employment Agreements and Onboarding

As part of bringing a new employee into an organization—also referred to as onboarding—company security policies, acceptable use policies, and similar agreements should be reviewed and agreed upon prior to giving a new employee their badge and any system credentials.

Over the course of an employee's time at the company, controls like "separation of duties" and "job rotation" can be used to prevent fraud or violation of organizational policy. In addition to separation of duties and job rotation, two other controls often used are "least privilege" and "need to know." These two access controls are often used together, and they help ensure that employees are given only the access they need to perform their job and no more. The need to know principle refers to an employee only having access to the assets of the organization that his/her job function requires. The principle of least privilege refers to the concept that a user is given the “minimum’ levels of access, or permissions, needed to perform his/her job function

Employee Termination and Offboarding

Offboarding controls are used when an employee leaves an organization, whether through termination or resignation. Prior to an employee leaving, or in conjunction with it, user system access should be disabled, and the fact that the employee's employment is being terminated should be conveyed to all relevant parties within the organization.

Voluntary vs. Involuntary Termination

Usually, voluntary termination isn't too much of a security risk. However, involuntary termination is a big risk from a security perspective. If a terminated employee becomes hostile, they might be tempted to lash out by stealing or tampering with data. For this reason, involuntary termination usually needs to be handled quite differently than voluntary termination. For example, in some situations, a member from physical security might even be physically present in the HR office while the person is being terminated to escort them out of the building.

Employee Duress

An employee acting under duress may be forced to perform an action or set of actions that they wouldn't do under normal circumstances. For example, consider the scenario of a bank manager threatened by an attacker and told to open the bank's vault while held at gunpoint. In that scenario, the bank manager's life is at risk, so, acting under duress, they may give the attacker what they want.

One common practice to handle these stressful situations is to have keywords that denote that an employee is acting under duress. Training is key in these scenarios so everyone will act calmly and denote they are potentially acting under duress.

Third-Party Personnel Security

Personnel security policies should also be extended to third parties. Third parties include contractors, companies, and anybody that may have access to company assets as part of the service provided to the organization.

Enforcing personnel security controls commences with the hiring process, extends through the employment period, and ends only after the employee has left the organization. Security controls like job rotation, separation of duties, and the others mentioned earlier are important, but policies are the primary means by which these controls are enforced. They often include:

Company security policies that align with and support organizational goals and objectives
Acceptable use policies that outline the "do" and "don't" behavior expected by the organization.

Additionally, personnel-focused policies can often be further supported by:

• Non-disclosure agreements (NDA)
• Non-compete agreements (NCA)
• Ethical guideline and requirement questionnaires and agreements
• Vendor, consultant, and contractor agreements and controls

Contracts and Agreements

Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are contracts through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. Organizations may require employees to agree to and sign an NDA before the employee is allowed to access sensitive information.

Personnel security policies should also be extended to third parties in the form of contracts and service level agreements (SLAs). As employee actions and behavior are subject to and enforced by organization policies, third-party vendors should be equally subject to and held responsible for their actions and behavior. Contracts and SLAs, NDAs, attestation, and audit are tools that an organization can use to ensure compliance to organizational personnel policies.

FAQs

Mastering Personnel Security Controls with Destination Certification

Personnel security controls form a critical foundation for protecting organizational assets and maintaining security integrity. From initial screening and hiring practices to thorough offboarding procedures, each component plays a vital role in an organization's security posture. The implementation of controls like job rotation, mandatory vacations, and separation of duties helps prevent and detect potential security incidents, while proper third-party management ensures these protections extend beyond direct employees.

Understanding and implementing these controls effectively requires more than just knowing the policies—it demands practical experience and deep understanding of security principles. Here at Destination Certification, we don't just teach the theory; we help you develop the critical thinking skills needed to navigate complex security scenarios. Our expert instructors bring real-world experience to the table, providing insights that go beyond the exam syllabus.

Ready to master personnel security controls and other essential CISSP domains? Join our CISSP MasterClass and gain the confidence to implement robust security measures in your organization. Don't just learn security—master it.