What is an Insider Threat?
An Insider Threat involves someone with authorized access to an organization causing harm to their own network. Insider threats can be intentional or accidental. In some cases, carelessness leads to an authorized user’s credentials being compromised. In others, that insider may be targeting the organization with ill intent. But either way, insider threats can cause significant damage such as data breaches, financial impacts, and data loss.
How to Recognize This Threat: Visibility is key to recognizing an insider threat. That means seeing everything occurring on a network to spot suspicious activity, like users accessing areas outside of normal usage patterns. Additionally, human behavioral logic factors in. As in, be aware of potentially disgruntled employees and pay special attention to their access and behavior.
How to Prevent This Threat: Network segmentation is vital whether the insider threat is intentional or accidental. Control access so that employees can only see what they need to see for their job responsibilities. That way, their credentials cannot be used beyond those means. To prevent accidental insider threats, ensure employees are trained in cybersecurity best practices. Many of these are steps to adopting a zero trust security posture, which should be a focus of any organization as well.