Case study: securing employee onboarding, contractor onboarding, and credential resets for a high-risk global internet company

Background: the rising threat of employee-focused cyberattacks

This case study centers on a leading internet company with operations across multiple regions and millions of daily users worldwide. Due to its large user base, valuable intellectual property, and global influence, the company attracts interest not only from cybercriminals but also from government-affiliated threat actors. For this reason, protecting internal operations has become as critical as safeguarding customer data. . The company required a solution for onboarding, for both employees and contractors, and employee verification and credential resets that goes beyond standard procedures, given the stakes involved.

Veriff’s role: a robust KYE solution for critical employee verification

Recognizing the potential vulnerabilities in employee onboarding, this global enterprise engaged Veriff, an industry leader in identity verification, to implement a "Know Your Employee" (KYE) system. The goal was to deploy a secure and comprehensive verification process for each new hire, and also credential resets for existing employees. Veriff’s KYE service is designed to help organizations confirm the identity and integrity of employees in a way that minimizes exposure to insider threats and data breaches.

Through robust AI-based verification, Veriff assists this company in thoroughly vetting each individual who is hired. The onboarding system employs a range of biometric and document verification steps to authenticate identities, then employs cross-linking to ensure the identity has not been used for fraudulent attempts in the past to create a network effect that ensures the employee is genuine. This rigorous approach ensures that each individual meets the necessary security requirements to access sensitive company resources.

Navigating the threat of state-sponsored actors

One of the most alarming threats this company faces is the risk of attacks from state-sponsored operatives. Some nation-states are known to employ cyber strategies to infiltrate high-value targets by placing insiders or manipulating employees to access confidential information. Such activities pose an immense risk, as these actors are often well-resourced and trained in techniques to bypass conventional security barriers in Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks. These are compound network attacks that utilize multiple stages and different attack techniques. APTs are not opportunist attacks. Instead, attackers are highly sophisticated and  deliberately plan out their attack strategies against specific targets before carrying out the attack over a prolonged time period.

By leveraging Veriff’s sophisticated KYE protocols, this company can detect inconsistencies and red flags in background information that may suggest affiliation with adversarial groups. Veriff’s connections to global verification databases and ability to assess the authenticity of identity documents across various jurisdictions give the company confidence in mitigating risks linked to nation-state infiltration.

The billion-dollar risk: why Veriff’s solutions are critical

The potential financial damage from insider threats or malicious actors gaining access to this company’s systems is substantial, with risks in the billions. Intellectual property theft, customer data breaches, and reputation damage all represent costly outcomes that could shake the foundation of the business. For this reason, Veriff’s onboarding solutions are essential not only for verifying employee identities but also for securing the company’s entire operational framework against sophisticated and high-level threats.

But new employees are not the only risk and it is actually credential resets that provide the greatest level of security, because a person who has been employed by the company for some time has much wider access to internal systems than a newcomer has.

Another factor to consider here is the complexity of the employer-employee relationship when it comes to balancing security against data privacy laws protecting the employee. Fortunately, Veriff’s solutions are built with compliance at their heart, meaning an employee’s personal identifiable information is protected without weakening the security to the company.

Outcome: fortifying trust with advanced security checks

By adopting Veriff’s KYE solutions as part of a multi-line defense system, this internet company has bolstered its defenses, ensuring only trustworthy employees gain access to critical systems and sensitive information. This comprehensive verification strategy is helping to secure the organization against potential fraud, espionage, and unauthorized data access.

Through Veriff’s continuous support, this tech giant has a streamlined, high-assurance employee onboarding verification that prioritizes security without compromising efficiency.