Temporary Summer Staff: Are They a Cybersecurity Risk?

Every summer, businesses bring on interns, seasonal employees, and temporary staff to help manage workloads, support special projects, and fill staffing gaps while full-time employees take vacations. These team members can add tremendous value and bring fresh perspectives. However, they can also introduce cybersecurity risks that many organizations overlook.

The reality is that cybersecurity threats don’t take summer vacations. In fact, summer can be one of the riskiest times of the year for businesses. With fewer employees in the office, vacation schedules disrupting normal workflows, and new workers gaining access to company systems, cybercriminals often see an opportunity.

The good news? Temporary staff don’t have to become a security liability. With the right processes, training, and security controls in place, businesses can safely onboard seasonal workers while protecting sensitive data and systems.

Why Temporary Staff Can Increase Cybersecurity Risk

Most seasonal employees and interns aren’t intentionally putting your business at risk. The issue is usually a lack of experience with corporate security practices.

A college intern may be using business applications for the first time. A temporary administrative employee may not recognize a sophisticated phishing email. A contractor may accidentally save sensitive documents to a personal device.

These situations create opportunities for cybercriminals who frequently target less experienced users through phishing, social engineering, and credential theft attacks.

According to a recent article from Framewerx, interns and seasonal employees often require additional guidance on topics such as password management, phishing recognition, and proper data handling procedures because they may be unfamiliar with corporate IT security expectations.

Common Cybersecurity Risks Associated with Temporary Employees

Increased Phishing Vulnerability

Cybercriminals know that newer employees are often less familiar with company processes and communication patterns.

An intern may not recognize whether an email from the CEO is legitimate. A temporary employee might respond to a fake invoice request because they’re unfamiliar with approval procedures.

New staff members are prime targets for phishing emails, fake login pages, and business email compromise scams.

Excessive Access Permissions

Many businesses accidentally provide temporary workers with more access than they actually need.

For example, an intern working on social media projects may gain access to shared files that contain financial information, HR documents, or confidential client data.

Following the principle of least privilege, granting only the access necessary to perform assigned tasks, can significantly reduce risk.

Forgotten User Accounts

One of the most common security mistakes organizations make is failing to remove access when a seasonal employee leaves.

Former interns or temporary employees may still have active email accounts, VPN access, Microsoft 365 credentials, or shared drive permissions months after their employment ends.

These forgotten accounts can become easy targets for attackers.

Personal Device Usage

Temporary workers often rely on personal laptops, smartphones, or tablets to complete work tasks.

While convenient, unmanaged devices can introduce security concerns if they:

Lack endpoint protection
Have outdated software
Connect to unsecured networks
Store business information locally

Without proper controls, a compromised personal device could become a gateway into your organization.

Summer Can Amplify the Problem

Summer staffing changes occur at the same time many permanent employees are out of the office.

This combination creates several challenges:

Reduced IT and management oversight
Slower response to security incidents
More reliance on less experienced workers
Increased use of out-of-office messages that attackers can exploit

How to Reduce the Risk

The solution isn’t avoiding interns or temporary workers. Instead, organizations need clear cybersecurity procedures as part of their onboarding and offboarding processes.

Provide Security Awareness Training

Every worker, regardless of role or employment duration, should receive basic cybersecurity training before gaining access to company systems.

Training should include:

How to identify phishing emails
Password best practices
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Data handling requirements
Device security expectations
Reporting suspicious activity

Even a short training session can significantly improve security awareness.

Use Temporary Accounts

Create accounts specifically designed for temporary workers.

These accounts should:

Have clearly defined expiration dates
Include only necessary permissions
Be monitored regularly
Be automatically disabled when employment ends

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication

MFA remains one of the most effective ways to protect user accounts.

Even if login credentials are compromised, MFA adds another layer of verification that can stop attackers from gaining access.

Establish an Offboarding Checklist

When an internship or temporary assignment ends, organizations should immediately:

Disable user accounts
Remove email access
Revoke VPN permissions
Recover company-issued devices
Remove shared file access
Review application permissions

A simple checklist can prevent accounts from remaining active long after a worker leaves.

Monitor Access and Activity

Temporary users should be included in your organization’s normal security monitoring processes.

This helps identify:

Unusual login behavior
Unauthorized file access
Suspicious email activity
Potential compromised accounts

Cybersecurity Is Everyone’s Responsibility

One of the biggest cybersecurity risks and misconceptions is that security is solely an IT issue. In reality, every employee, intern, contractor, and temporary worker plays a role in protecting the organization.

New team members can become security assets rather than risks when they’re properly trained, equipped, and supported.

The key is treating cybersecurity as part of onboarding, not as an afterthought.

Final Thoughts

Summer interns and temporary staff can be valuable additions to your organization, but their arrival should trigger the same cybersecurity planning as any new hire.

By implementing strong onboarding procedures, limiting access appropriately, providing security awareness training, and maintaining clear offboarding processes, businesses can enjoy the benefits of seasonal staffing without increasing cyber risk.

Ready to Strengthen Your Human Firewall?

At BEI, we help businesses build security-aware teams through cybersecurity training, phishing simulations, security assessments, Microsoft 365 security solutions, and proactive IT management. Whether you’re onboarding interns, seasonal employees, or full-time staff, we’ll help ensure every user becomes part of your defense, not your vulnerability. This is to mitigate cybersecurity risks even before it happens.

Contact BEI today to learn how we can help your organization reduce human risk and strengthen cybersecurity year-round.