We know them as friends, colleagues, acquaintances, work wives or husbands, and sometimes, the competition. They are the people we spend more time with than our own families. They are our co-workers and employees. They are also our greatest cybersecurity vulnerabilities. 

Insider threats, which include employees, contractors, or others with direct access to company data and IT infrastructure, represent a significant risk to companies of every size in every sector.

According to Verizon’s most recent Data Breach Investigation Report, nearly three-quarters of all data breaches involve a human element, as social engineering attacks, errors, and misuse compromise information security and privacy. With the average cost of a data breach approaching $4.5 million – a number that’s increased 15% in the past three years – businesses have many reasons to improve their defensive posture in this regard. 

Fortunately, while insiders are often a company’s most significant cybersecurity risks, they are also its most solvable problem. There are proactive and practical steps that every company can take to mitigate the risk of insider threats. 

The key is taking a proactive approach to insider threat prevention, a factor often overlooked by many organizations. IBM’s research found that 51% of companies are planning to increase cybersecurity investments because they experienced a breach, not to prevent one in the first place. 

Here is an insider threat prevention primer to help your business take a more strategic approach to cybersecurity and data privacy. 

1. Some insiders don’t know they’re the problem. 

Everyone plays a part in protecting your company against insider threats because even accidental risks can have enormous consequences.

In reality, most insiders are accidental. Most employees don’t intend to compromise people’s privacy or undermine cybersecurity. However, their ignorance or negligence puts these things at risk. 

For example, even though people understand that their account passwords are the lock and key to their online assets, “123456” and “password” remain two of the most common passwords, and 83% of the world’s most common passwords can be cracked in less than a second. 

Similarly, many employees aren’t prepared to identify phishing scams – malicious messages that steal data, install malware, and compromise login credentials. Consequently, 84% of organizations said they experienced at least one successful phishing scam last year. With phishing scam frequency increasing and generative AI expected to fuel even more convincing scams, it’s clear that accidental insiders pose a real risk to data privacy and cybersecurity. 

To protect your company against accidental insiders, consider providing training in cybersecurity best practices, implementing guardrails to moderate employees’ decisions, and leveraging software solutions that protect employees and companies from accidentally harmful decisions. 

2. Uncertainty makes malicious insiders more likely to act out. 

Most insider threats are accidental, but some employees will inevitably choose a more nefarious approach, intentionally leveraging their trusted status to steal company assets. 

Malicious insiders are motivated by many factors. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency notes that malicious insiders might sabotage their employer for personal benefit because of a personal grievance, a perceived lack of recognition, or termination. Many are financially motivated, while others, like Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, reveal company secrets out of pride or a desire for self-promotion. 

Stopping malicious insiders is extremely challenging. Their trusted status makes them difficult to detect, and if the right endpoint data loss preventions aren’t in place, it’s often too late to take action. 

Implement behavioral analytics to identify and forestall damaging actions from insiders. This can help manifest atypical behaviors, acting as early warning signs of possible security breaches. 

At the same time, cultivating a transparent corporate culture that motivates employees to report questionable activities is critical in early threat detection. This might include implementing whistleblower protections, maintaining transparency in company decisions, and ensuring employees feel appreciated, which are effective measures in mitigating the risk of insider threats.

3. Everyone must play a part in digital defense. 

Effective insider threat prevention can’t be a top-down initiative. Regardless of your company’s size, cybersecurity teams and CISOs alone won’t be able to keep your company safe. 

Everyone must play a part in insider threat prevention. 

For leaders, this means continually updating their awareness of the latest threat trends and best practices for mitigating their company’s exposure to these trends, which includes policy updates, integration of new technology tools, and fostering a security culture.

They also need to prepare their employees to identify and respond to the latest cybersecurity challenges. In addition to providing timely and appropriate training and resources so people feel empowered to act. Moreover, fosters an environment where people feel responsible for their company’s cybersecurity and capable of taking action to reduce harm. 

Truly, cybersecurity in general, and insider threat prevention in particular, is a team sport, requiring everyone to play a part in company security. 

Now Is the Time To Act 

A cybersecurity strategy is only helpful if it reduces or eliminates exposure to potential threats, preventing costly and consequential incidents before they occur. Since most cybersecurity failures involve company insiders in some capacity, looking internally is a natural place to improve any company’s defensive posture. 

Don’t wait until after a cybersecurity incident costs your company critical revenue and its hard-earned reputation. Act now to ensure you and your team are the company’s greatest defensive asset, not its most significant liability. 

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• Source: https://www.dataversity.net/the-insider-threat-prevention-primer-your-company-needs/