HR tech security is becoming one of the most urgent issues in the modern workplace.
As organizations embrace new and improved technology solutions that support payroll services, hiring procedures, and employee information (HRIS and Talent Management Systems), the majority of the focus has been on new systems and regulatory compliance. However, the real threat is rarely a software flaw or an unpatched vulnerability. Usually, the threat is about people.
Social engineering has become the new favourite tactic for attackers.
Rather than attempting to infiltrate HR systems directly, cyber criminals instead manipulate human trust through social engineering.
A simple email that appears legitimate with an attached résumé from a candidate or a request for a banking update can unleash major breaches. HR departments make excellent entry points as they often hold sensitive personal and financial information.
As risks continue to multiply, it is increasingly about technology but also about behavior. Institutionalized behavior, HR teams are molded to be available and considerate. As HR teams become more refined, their strengths can become weaknesses.
Through this change, social engineering is a new risk on the front lines of HR tech security.
Social engineering incidents directed toward HR functions are particularly concerning due to the vast amounts of sensitive information that HR shares with various outside parties.
Unlike IT environments, where there is often a technical barrier to entry into the system, HR environments tend to rely on trust and relationships to conduct interactions.
This makes HR a perfect opportunity for someone wanting to cause harm.
HR is often targeted using:
sending what may look like a job application or résumé to HR. When the files are opened, harmful malware can be placed on the organization or login details stolen.
An attacker impersonates an employee and requests that the direct deposit details for their pay be changed to a fraudulent account.
Cyber criminals use fraudulent applicants or vendors to gain access to confidential salary data, and are criminals using information to impersonate a legitimate contact.
Even a common inquiry by an employee form for benefits eligibility or a background check on a new employee can be used to extract personal information.
However, the objectives are consistent across the variety of social engineering attacks targeting HR:
Obtaining access to employee records
Stealing and/or hijacking financial and/or personal information
Using access gained to HR systems as a stepping stone to access larger organizational systems.
The attractive appeal of HR systems for attackers is the wealth of personal identification data they can obtain.
One unsuspecting action on behalf of HR when engaging in any of the examples outlined above could result in significant financial loss or reputational harm to the organization.
HR operates at the crossroads of sensitive data, external contact, and people-first processes. This distinct location increases its exposure to social engineering and breaches.
Factors contributing to HR's exposure:
HR handles large amounts of personal data, such as name, address, bank account information, social security number (or equivalent), performance reviews, benefits information, and background checks.
HR data attracts cybercriminals and is part of the HR function's policies, procedures, and processes, which are highly regulated under laws such as GDPR and HIPAA.
HR regularly interacts with prospective employees and a variety of third-party vendors, including background screening and benefits providers.
This first point of contact presents multiple entry vectors. It is relatively easy for social engineers to spoof first-party vendor names, create fake profiles, or intercept recruitment traffic and compromise weak verification controls.
HR is taught to engage in an employee-friendly manner without appearing overly intrusive and overly preoccupied with the potential for information misrepresentation.
Employees.
Employees are likely to comply with requests under the premise of employee benefit, as it is instinctual, even if the request resembles routine requests or is implied to be urgent, making HR staff easy targets for social engineering ploys.
Releasing HR data to an unauthorized party can result in legally and financially serious consequences.
Compromising HR breach data can result in fines under the GDPR (which are severe), violate health data protections imposed by the HIPAA, and violate other legislation imposed on company policies and procedures.
Financial exposure of employee PII is damaging, but it is accompanied by significant reputational risk.
As Personnel Today reported, analysis of 141 million breached files, HR data appeared in 82 percent of reported data breaches.
The 2025 Unit 42 Global Incident Response Report showed that social-engineering-based attacks resulted in data exposure in 60 percent of cases, which is much higher than the other types of intrusion.
In essence, these statistics point to the fact that the majority of these data vulnerabilities do not rely on technology but on human behavior and processes. When HR data is attacked, the damage is both immediate and severe.
When it comes to defending against social engineering specifically targeting HR systems, you cannot depend solely on technology.
While the latest and greatest tools can help in detecting threats, a human-centric defense strategy must include the human factor at the center of any effective security strategy.
Human-centric Defense Approach Includes:
HR teams need training that fits their daily lives.
Phishing simulations containing fake resumes, vendor impersonations, and payroll fraud scenarios will create the type of systemic muscle memory to fend off manipulation.
Even the most mundane request must be validated.
Multi-factor authentication procedures, callback procedures, and identity verification procedures can thwart attackers who try to exploit our trust system.
HR cannot do this alone.
Regular meetings with IT security teams and compliance officers can assist HR in establishing a regular cadence of appraising vulnerabilities early on in fraud schemes, but also meeting regulatory obligations as part of their oversight.
AI tools can identify when changes are made to payroll, sudden suspicious logins, or odd behaviours from vendors.
These are all ways to leverage embedded technology. But these tools can not take the place of the human capital that HR employees provide regularly.
The best defense against social engineering fraud is the right technology combined with empowered people. When HR professionals are empowered to scrutinize peculiar requests and confirm identities, it presents the frontline barrier for the organization against social engineering fraud.
HR security's future will rely less on technology enhancements and more on a cultural shift. Social engineering relies on trust, and resilience must stem from changing mindsets toward responsibility, verification, and a shared defense.
There are already shifts happening, including:
The HR team will implement a "trust but verify" approach. All requests, whether from an employee, candidate, or vendor, must be validated using established protocols and checklists.
HR, IT, and compliance can no longer work in silos. Security must have joint frameworks, teams trained together generally, and joint plans for how to respond to incidents.
Security checks will be irrelevant and instead include role-specific security as regular practice, including recruitment, payroll updates, and messaging employees.
As global data privacy regulations become stricter, HR leaders will be responsible for protecting sensitive employee information directly. Accountability will move from a checklist mentality to the forefront of leadership.
The frontline risk is no longer a technology risk, but it's human.
For HR leaders to move forward, security culture must become a part of your culture, and concerns must move from collaboration to intentional shared collaboration.
HR tech security is no longer simply about securing systems; instead, the biggest risk is trust and behavior. Social engineering has evolved HR to the front line of unknown cyber threats, and we can no longer afford to ignore the risk.
HR leaders can leverage culture, verification, and working together to turn their biggest vulnerability into their greatest strength.
To participate in our interviews, please write to our HRTech Media Room at sudipto@intentamplify.com
