Minimizing Risks with Gig Workers

Sonal Patni, CTO at SME corner, a new age fintech lender, discusses the security risks when working with gig workers:

Mehul Dani: What kind of risks can originate from gig workers?

Sonal Patni: Companies are increasingly hiring gig workers to address the evolving needs of their business. Gig economy workers often need extensive access to the company’s systems and as a result, can open up a number of cyberattack vectors. This needs to be handled carefully. Unlike a controlled network and in-house employees, gig economy workers can’t be subjected to strict security oversight and the security needs to adapt to the new threats posed by the gig economy workers. Internal threats are a rising security concern among enterprises, malicious insiders are viewed as one of the top cyber threats across the enterprise today.

How can one mitigate the elevated risk that gig economy workers bring in?

Organizations need to have strict security protocols in place to properly mitigate the elevated risk that this entails. Managing sensitive business data when you’re using gig workers can be a delicate balance. While you need to protect confidential business and customer information, workers need access to the right data and systems so they can do their job properly. Even with a strong security framework in place to help safeguard data from external hackers and threats, an influx of gig workers can open the door to new vulnerabilities right within the walls of an organization.