What is an insider threat?An insider threat is a category of risk posed by those who have access to an organization's physical or digital assets. These insiders can be current employees, former employees, contractors, vendors or business partners who all have -- or had -- authorized access to an organization's network and computer systems. Show
The consequences of a successful insider threat can take a variety of forms, including a data breach, fraud, theft of trade secrets or intellectual property, and sabotage of security measures. What are the different types of insider threats?Insider threats are defined by the role of the person who introduces the threat. The following are examples of potential insider threats:
Why are insider threats dangerous?Insider threats can be hard to detect, even using advanced security threat detection tools. This is likely due to the fact that an insider threat typically doesn't reveal itself until the moment of attack. Also, because the malicious actor looks like a legitimate user, it can be difficult to distinguish between normal behavior and suspicious activity in the days, weeks and months leading up to an attack. With authenticated access to sensitive information, the insider exploit might not be apparent until the data is gone. With few safeguards preventing someone with legitimate access from absconding with valuable information, this type of data breach can be one of the costliest to endure. The "2022 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report," a study produced by Ponemon Institute with Proofpoint sponsorship, noted that insider threat incidents have risen 44% over the past two years, with costs per incident up more than a third to $15.4 million. The report also noted that the time to contain an insider threat incident increased from 77 days to 85 days, leading organizations to spend the most on containment. Who are the insiders?The following are a few real-world examples of insider threats:
What are the warning signs that could indicate an insider threat?To build awareness and improve detection of insider threats, the following common signs could indicate the presence of inappropriate insider activity in an organization:
How can you defend against insider threats?The Ponemon/Proofpoint report identified areas where modern organizations may be exposing themselves to insider threat incidents:
To fill these gaps, there are two main paths forward:
Many cybersecurity tools can scan and monitor functionality to discover threats such as spyware, viruses and malware, as well as provide user behavior analytics. Security controls can also be implemented to protect your data sources. Examples include encryption for data at rest, routine backups, scheduled maintenance and enforced two-factor authentication for password fortification. In addition, identity management tools often automate user access revocation when an employee is terminated. These tools also provide greater control over what your employees have access to so access to sensitive data sources can be limited.
Insider threat detection and preventionOrganizations can take the following steps to protect their data sources:
For additional detail on preventing insider threats, read about 10 ways to prevent computer security threats from insiders. This was last updated in July 2022 Continue Reading About insider threat
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What is an effective strategy for protecting against an insider threat?One of the best ways to prevent insider threats is to include procedures in your security policy to prevent and detect misuse. Your policy should also include guidelines for conducting insider misuse investigations. Also, make sure your security policy spells out potential consequences of misuse.
Which of the following best describes an insider threat?An insider threat is any employee, vendor, executive, contractor, or other person who works directly with an organization. A malicious insider is one that misuses data for the purpose of harming the organization intentionally.
How the insider threat and cyberattack may be prevented?Limit privileged access to sensitive information, such as customer data, personally identifiable information, trade secrets, intellectual property, and sensitive financial data. Employ least privilege policies and tools to provide workers with only the access they need.
What is one of the most common forms of insider threat?Here are the six most common types of insider threats:. Negligent workers. Many organizations focus their insider threat management programs on addressing insiders with malicious intent; however, negligence is more common. ... . Departing employees. ... . Security evaders. ... . Malicious insiders. ... . Inside agents. ... . Third party partners.. |