Why Interns and New Joiners Are High Risk From a Cyber Lens?
Interns and new joiners bring fresh energy, new skills, and much-needed capacity to growing organisations. However, from a cybersecurity perspective, they also represent one of the most vulnerable points in any organisation's defence system. This risk is rarely intentional. Most interns and new employees do not aim to compromise systems or data. The danger lies in unfamiliarity, access gaps, time pressure, and the absence of strong security habits during the earliest days of employment. In fast-moving workplaces, onboarding often prioritises productivity over protection. That is where cyber risk quietly begins.
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Why Interns and New Joiners Are High Risk From a Cyber Lens?
The First Few Weeks Are the Most Dangerous
The initial days of joining are a perfect storm for cyber risk. New employees are learning systems, tools, processes, and expectations all at once. They are more likely to make mistakes, ask fewer questions, and follow instructions without scepticism.
Interns face even greater challenges. They often lack real-world exposure to corporate security practices and may treat work systems casually, similar to personal devices.
Attackers understand this vulnerability and actively target employees during onboarding phases.
Limited Security Awareness and Context
Experienced employees develop intuition around what feels suspicious. New joiners and interns lack this context.
They may struggle to identify:
Phishing emails that look legitimate
Fake login pages or password reset requests
Unusual access or approval requests
Malicious attachments disguised as onboarding documents
Without security awareness training at the start, new employees often assume anything sent internally or labelled “urgent” is trustworthy.
Overprivileged Access During Onboarding
To avoid slowing down productivity, organisations often grant broad access during onboarding. This creates a major cyber risk.
Common onboarding shortcuts include:
Giving access to multiple systems “just in case”
Sharing admin or team credentials temporarily
Skipping role-based access controls
Delaying access reviews until later
When a new joiner’s account is compromised, attackers gain immediate access to sensitive systems, data, and workflows.
Higher Susceptibility to Phishing and Social Engineering
Interns and new employees are more likely to comply with requests from perceived authority figures.
Attackers exploit this by impersonating:
IT support teams
HR representatives
Managers or team leads
Senior leadership
A simple email asking for credentials, MFA approvals, or document downloads can bypass technical defenses if human judgment fails.
Unfamiliarity With Internal Tools and Processes
New joiners often rely heavily on external help, documentation, and quick searches to complete tasks. This behaviour increases exposure to malicious links, fake software downloads, and unsafe integrations.
They may:
Install unauthorised tools to work faster
Use personal cloud storage for convenience
Share files through unapproved platforms
Disable security settings that seem restrictive
Each workaround introduces risk, even when intentions are good.
Use of Personal or Poorly Secured Devices
Interns, especially short-term hires, often use personal laptops or phones for work. These devices may lack enterprise-grade security controls.
Risks include:
Outdated operating systems
No endpoint protection
Shared device usage
Unsecured Wi-Fi connections
When corporate systems are accessed from insecure devices, the organisation inherits those vulnerabilities.
Fear of Asking “Basic” Questions
Many new joiners hesitate to ask questions that might make them appear inexperienced. This silence can be costly.
Instead of verifying suspicious emails or access requests, they may:
Click links without confirmation
Share information they should not
Approve access requests quickly
Ignore warning signs
Cybersecurity relies heavily on verification. When employees feel uncomfortable asking questions, risk increases.
Temporary Roles, Long-Term Impact
Interns and short-term hires often receive less attention in security planning because their tenure is limited. However, their access can outlast their role.
Poor offboarding leads to:
Active accounts after exit
Retained access to shared tools
Data stored on personal devices
Forgotten credentials and tokens
These orphaned access points remain exploitable long after the individual has left.
Increased Insider Risk, Often Unintentional
Not all insider threats are malicious. Many are accidental.
Interns and new joiners may:
Share files incorrectly
Misconfigure systems
Delete or alter data unintentionally
Fall victim to scams that compromise credentials
Because they are still learning, the margin for error is higher.
Why Traditional Security Controls Are Not Enough?
Firewalls, antivirus software, and access controls cannot fully mitigate human risk. Interns and new joiners operate at the intersection of people, process, and technology.
Without:
Structured onboarding security training
Clear access boundaries
Ongoing supervision
Simple reporting channels
Even strong technical controls can fail.
How can organisations Reduce This Risk?
Reducing cyber risk from interns and new joiners does not mean limiting opportunities. It means designing onboarding with security in mind.
Effective steps include:
Security awareness training on day one
Role-based and least-privilege access
Temporary or time-bound access where possible
Clear guidelines on approved tools and data handling
Simple processes to report suspicious activity
Security should be embedded into onboarding, not added later.
Role of Cyber Insurance in People-Driven Risk
Human error remains one of the leading causes of cyber incidents. When breaches occur due to onboarding gaps or employee mistakes, the financial impact can be significant.
Cyber insurance can help organisations manage:
Data breach response costs
Incident investigation and forensics
Legal and regulatory exposure
Business interruption losses
While insurance does not prevent incidents, it provides essential support when people-driven risks materialise.
Conclusion
Interns and new joiners are not a problem to be solved. They are a reality of growing organisations. The risk arises when businesses underestimate how vulnerable the early stages of employment can be from a cyber lens.
By acknowledging this risk and addressing it through better onboarding, access control, and training, organisations can turn a weak point into a strength.
In cybersecurity, it is often not the most experienced employee who causes the breach. It is the newest one who did not know any better.
Disclaimer: Above mentioned insurers are arranged in alphabetical order. Policybazaar.com does not endorse, rate, or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by an insurer.
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