The Hidden Security Risks of Letting Ex-Employees Keep Access for Too Long

When someone leaves your company, whether on good terms or not, what happens to their access? If the answer isn’t “it's revoked immediately,” your business could be facing a serious security gap.

It’s a common oversight, especially in growing companies where HR and IT are moving fast, and offboarding procedures don’t always keep up. But keeping inactive user accounts around, especially those with privileged access, introduces real, measurable risk. Former employees still having access to internal systems, patient data, email accounts, or cloud tools doesn’t just violate best practices, it can result in compliance breaches, data loss, or even intentional sabotage.

According to a report by Beyond Identity, 83% of ex-employees admitted to still being able to access company accounts after leaving. And 56% said they used that access to harm their former employer. In healthcare, where HIPAA violations can cost thousands per incident, this is more than an IT issue, it’s a legal and operational one too.

This post will walk you through the real risks of letting former employees keep access, and more importantly, how to prevent it; without adding friction or complexity to your offboarding process.

Why This Happens More Than It Should

Disconnected Systems and Responsibilities

In most companies, IT and HR operate on separate tracks. When someone leaves, HR handles exit interviews, equipment retrieval, and payroll. But revoking access? That often relies on someone sending an email to IT. If that step is missed, or delayed, the door stays open.

Lack of Centralized Access Management

Without a centralized identity and access management (IAM) system, IT teams often rely on manual processes. That means someone has to remember to disable email, revoke VPN permissions, disconnect shared drives, and deauthorize SaaS tools, one by one.

Overlooked Cloud Tools

With the average company using over 100 SaaS apps, it’s easy to forget that someone had access to a shared Google Drive folder, a project management board, or a password manager. Ex-employees can quietly retain access for months.

Assumptions About “Trusted” Employees

There’s a dangerous assumption that people who leave on good terms won’t cause harm. But security shouldn’t depend on how someone feels about your company—it should be built around clear, automatic controls.

Best Practices for Securing Your Offboarding Process

1. Centralize Identity Management

What it is:
Use an IAM platform or directory service (like Azure AD or Okta) that consolidates all user access across systems.

Why it matters:
Instead of logging into 10 tools to remove access, IT can revoke permissions in one place. This reduces human error and speeds up response time.

How to implement:
Integrate all business-critical apps: email, cloud storage, EHRs, financial systems, into your IAM. Automate provisioning and deprovisioning as part of your onboarding and offboarding workflows.

2. Standardize Your Offboarding Checklist

What it is:
A documented, step-by-step process that IT and HR follow every time someone leaves.

Why it matters:
It reduces guesswork, prevents missed steps, and helps you stay compliant, especially in regulated industries like healthcare.

How to implement:
Build your checklist collaboratively with HR. Include tasks like disabling multi-factor authentication, collecting company devices, and revoking access to all user accounts and remote tools. Ensure it includes cloud services, shared accounts, and third-party vendors.

3. Audit Inactive and Dormant Accounts Regularly

What it is:
A recurring review of accounts that haven’t been used in a set period (e.g., 30–60 days).

Why it matters:
Dormant accounts are often forgotten, but they still carry risk. Attackers target these accounts because they’re less likely to trigger alerts.

How to implement:
Set up regular reporting on user activity. Flag and review accounts with zero activity in the past 30–60 days. Disable accounts proactively unless there’s a documented business reason to retain them.

4. Monitor for Unauthorized Access Attempts

What it is:
Ongoing surveillance of login activity, IP anomalies, and attempts to access sensitive data using deactivated or outdated credentials.

Why it matters:
If a former employee, or someone using their credentials, tries to access your systems, early detection limits the damage.

How to implement:
Deploy tools with threat detection, alerting, and automated response. XDR (Extended Detection and Response) platforms can help detect and contain access abuse tied to ex-employee credentials.

5. Don’t Skip Privileged Access Reviews

What it is:
Regular reviews of who has admin or elevated access across systems.

Why it matters:
Former IT admins, developers, and executives often have broader access. If their credentials remain active post-departure, the potential damage increases significantly.

How to implement:
Conduct quarterly access reviews, especially for users with elevated rights. Implement the principle of least privilege and enforce time-bound access for sensitive tasks.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Data breaches aren’t just caused by outsiders. Insider threats,whether accidental or malicious, account for a growing percentage of security incidents. And former employees sit in a unique position: they know your systems, your tools, and your vulnerabilities.

For healthcare organizations in particular, the risks are amplified. Access to PHI (Protected Health Information), EHR systems, and clinical tools must be tightly controlled, not just for security’s sake, but to meet HIPAA and other compliance standards. A breach involving a former employee could result in regulatory penalties, lost patient trust, and reputational harm that’s hard to recover from.

Proactive access management is no longer optional. It’s foundational to security and operational resilience.

It’s Not Just About Trust, It’s About Control

Letting ex-employees keep access, intentionally or not, is one of the most preventable security issues in IT. But it keeps happening, especially in fast-moving environments where IT offboarding isn’t systemized.

If you haven’t reviewed your offboarding process in a while, now’s the time. How many dormant accounts are still active in your systems? Are your tools connected to a centralized IAM? Do you monitor for unauthorized access attempts?

At Notics, we help companies tighten these gaps before they become incidents. Because good IT isn’t just about keeping systems running, it’s about making sure the wrong people don’t have the keys to your business.

Want to see how your current offboarding process stacks up? Start with a review. You might be surprised at what’s still open.

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