Rogue employees represent a significant and rising cybersecurity threat by exploiting hiring pipelines and potentially causing substantial financial and reputational damage to the organisations they infiltrate. Long gone are the days when the worst things these types of employees could do were constantly showing up late or having a bad habit of telling a few small tales on their work history record. Now, they pose a very real threat and must be taken into account when engaging cyber security services.

Consider a scenario where a malicious insider secures a position at a leading technology firm with hundreds of global business customers. This individual could intentionally introduce a critical software bug – blamed on an innocent mistake – while external accomplices launch a concurrent ransom campaign to capitalise on the incident. Although such a scenario might initially seem far-fetched, it underscores the lengths to which cybercriminals will go to achieve their objectives.

Thus, it goes without saying that understanding the threat posed by rogue employees is more important than ever before in today’s cybersecurity landscape. While businesses have long been aware of risks associated with fraudulent hires, many are only now beginning to confront the sophisticated cyber implications – especially when state-sponsored actors are involved.

Common types of rogue employees

Rogue hires typically fall into several distinct categories, each characterised by their tactics and potential impacts:

• Malicious applicants

These individuals, either operating independently or as part of a coordinated group, target organisations to steal financial assets or sensitive customer data. Their methods may include business email compromise, phishing, or malware deployment. Some intend to remain within the organisation and become a persistent insider threat, while others plan to sabotage the company during the interview process itself and then disappear.

• Proxy employees 

In these schemes, intermediaries are compensated – either through one-time fees or ongoing payments – to conduct interviews on behalf of a candidate. Once the proxy secures employment, they may perform job-related tasks, thereby gaining access to sensitive information. The increasing use of deepfake technology in remote work scams further complicates matters, as these proxies might secure positions that grant access to financial records, personally identifiable information (PII), corporate proprietary data, and IT databases.

• State-sponsored threat actors

Often encountered as freelance workers, these individuals commonly originate from North Korea – though not exclusively – and target roles in IT support, virtual currency exchanges, or firmware development. They frequently assume false identities, using forged or stolen documents to gain employment. While many perform legitimate tasks, some exploit their positions to carry out malicious cyber intrusions, leveraging privileged access for further attacks.

The riskiest stages of hiring and what you need to do

Once your job posting is live, the vulnerabilities in your hiring process become exposed to potential rogue actors. The three primary stages where malicious hires can infiltrate your organisation are:

1. Screening and shortlisting

During this initial phase, rogue applicants work to craft a polished resume that convincingly outlines their experience and credentials, effectively deterring deeper scrutiny. While most organisations perform basic checks on education, employment history, and criminal records, more comprehensive vetting – such as social media analysis, directorship searches, or specialised background investigations – is often overlooked.

Recommendations:

• Utilise an applicant tracking system (ATS): An effective ATS can detect inconsistencies such as reused names, email addresses, or phone numbers across multiple applications, thereby filtering out potentially fraudulent candidates.

• Conduct third-party background checks: These checks add an extra layer of verification, ensuring that only genuine candidates progress to the next stage.

2. The interview process

Rogue employees may try to avoid scrutiny during interviews by keeping their cameras off, using VoIP services to mask their true location, or even relying on intermediaries to answer questions on their behalf. They might deliberately avoid discussing details about their background to keep their true identities hidden.

Recommendations:

• Implement strict communication protocols: Require phone calls free of VoIP manipulation – using traditional landlines or mobile networks – to verify a candidate’s stated location.

• Mandate video interaction: For virtual interviews, enforce camera-on policies and disable features like blurred backgrounds to ensure the candidate’s environment is visible and consistent with their claims.

• Probe background details: Select a handful of key details from the resume – such as hometown, previous employment, or areas of expertise – and ask follow-up questions. Hesitant or inconsistent responses may signal a red flag.

3. Onboarding

Even if a rogue candidate successfully navigates the screening and interview stages, the onboarding process presents a final opportunity to mitigate risk.

Recommendations:

• Secure equipment distribution: Require that all laptop or equipment pickups occur at a secure depot where valid identification is verified.

• Enforce robust device security: Ensure that issued devices run all necessary security tools, limit administrative permissions, and restrict access to only essential applications (e.g., email and communication platforms). The devices should be configured in a “bare-bones” manner without preloaded company data.

• Control file upload capabilities: Limit new hires’ ability to upload files to only essential documents such as payslips, identification, or proof of address.

• Restrict access to communication channels: For platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack, restrict new employees from accessing channels unrelated to their role until further verification.

Conclusion

Rogue employees can compromise your business before you've even had a chance to react. To deter them, make sure to tighten your screening, enforce strict interview protocols, and secure your onboarding process. These steps aren't optional – they're essential defences in an environment where every gap is a potential entry point. Stay alert and keep your organisation one step ahead of those looking to exploit it.

Modern businesses are always under threat of cyber attacks – how prepared is your organisation? Group8 provides offensive-inspired cybersecurity strategies, including vulnerability assessments, security audits, and real-time monitoring, to keep your business ahead of threat actors. Contact us today at hello@group8.co and future-proof your defences with expert guidance.