What are Insider Threats: Definition, Examples & Prevention

Insider threats refer to security risks that originate from within an organization. Unlike outsider threats, these threats can be intentional or unintentional and can manifest in various ways, including violence, espionage, sabotage, theft, and cyber acts. An insider is defined as anyone with authorized access to an organization’s assets, including employees, contractors, vendors, partners, and executives.

Insider threats are harder to detect than external threats. That’s because they often have legitimate access to data for their job functions and know how to hide their tracks. Since they are versatile, there’s no single approach or patch that would reduce to zero all the risks related to human behavior.

Given that, increased awareness of human threats along with tools for behavioral analytics are the two most reliable ways to defend against insider menaces within the company.

What are the 2 types of insider threats

Insider threats are the cause of most data breaches. Plus, traditional cybersecurity strategies often focus on external threats, leaving organizations vulnerable to attacks from within. Careless insider security threats occur inadvertently and are often the result of human error. Malicious insiders, on the other hand, intentionally misuse data to harm the organization.

Examples of insider threats

Insider threats can be intentional or unintentional and can manifest in various ways, including violence, espionage, sabotage, theft, and cyber acts.

Here are some examples of insider threats:

• Departing employees. Employees who are leaving the company may take sensitive data with them, either intentionally or unintentionally.
• Malicious insiders. These insiders intentionally misuse data to harm the organization. They may steal data, sabotage systems, or engage in other malicious activities.
• Negligent workers. These insiders cause security incidents due to isolated errors. For example, they may store intellectual property on insecure personal devices.
• Security evader. These insiders intentionally bypass security measures to access sensitive data or systems.
• Inside agents. These insiders work with external attackers to steal data or cause damage to the organization.
• Third-party contractors. These insiders may have access to sensitive data or systems and can pose a threat if they misuse that access

How to stay protected against insider cyber threats

By implementing cybersecurity strategies, organizations can reduce the risk of insider threats and protect their critical information and systems. Companies must take a proactive approach to cybersecurity and prioritize the prevention and detection of insider threats.

Data protection

Data protection is a critical aspect of any business, especially in today’s digital age, where vast amounts of sensitive information are collected and processed. Using continuous monitoring and cognitive analytics should help you protect this sensitive data from all categories of cybersecurity threats.

Properly applying data protection measures helps safeguard both the organization and its customers from data breaches, privacy violations, and legal consequences. This includes understanding data privacy laws and regulations and having an incident response plan (IRP).

Adopt cognitive analytics for behavioral analytics

In cyber security, cognitive analytics is the use of advanced analytical techniques, often powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to improve the detection and response to threats. It goes beyond traditional methods by incorporating human-like cognitive abilities to make sense of complex data and adapt to evolving threats.

Use behavioral analytics and machine learning to establish baselines of normal user behavior. This can help identify deviations from the norm, which may indicate insider threats. Some examples of applications and platforms that apply cognitive analytics include IBM Watson, Cisco Stealthwatch, Microsoft Azure Sentinel, and Google Cloud’s Chronicle.

Employee training and awareness

Another forceful way to address basic threats and patch existing gaps in data protection is properly training employees in cyber security best practices. Make them aware of the risks associated with insider threats, such as phishing, social engineering, and data theft. Regularly update training to keep employees informed about the latest threats.

Mitigate internal threats

With all the aforementioned, creating adequate protection against insider risks to a large extent lies in the comprehension of the enormous variation in human behavior. This includes network segmentation and applying multi-factor authentication (MFA).

You should also implement strict access controls and follow the principle of least privilege. This ensures that employees have access only to the data and systems necessary for their specific roles and regularly review and adjust access permissions as needed.

Likewise, consider using specialized insider threat detection tools and services that can identify potential insider threats based on behavioral patterns and anomalies.

Create a whitelisting and blacklisting

Whitelisting and blacklisting are two standard security practices used to control access to resources, applications, websites, or devices. They are used to enhance security by either allowing or denying access based on predefined lists of trusted or untrusted entities.

Whitelisting is a security practice where only known, approved, and explicitly specified entities are allowed access to a particular resource or service.

Blacklisting is a security practice where known, unauthorized, or explicitly specified entities are denied access to a particular resource or service.

Encrypt the data

Encryption is a fundamental technique used in cybersecurity and information protection to secure data by converting it into an unreadable format. This process involves encoding the original information (plaintext) into ciphertext using an encryption algorithm and a cryptographic key.

Encryption ensures that even if unauthorized individuals gain access to the encrypted data, they cannot decipher it without the appropriate decryption key. You should apply encryption especially when transferring sensitive data.

What are some common signs of an insider threat

Insider threats can be difficult to detect, but there are some common signs that organizations can look for to identify potential insider threats.

Here are some of the common signs of an insider threat:

• Unusual login behavior. Insiders may log in at unusual times or from unusual locations.
• Unauthorized access to applications. Insiders may access applications or data that they do not need for their job functions.
• Abnormal employee behavior. Insiders may exhibit unusual or suspicious behavior, such as working odd hours or taking on tasks outside of their job description.
• Privilege escalation. Insiders may attempt to gain access to higher levels of privilege than they need for their job functions.
• Dissatisfaction or resentment. Insiders who are dissatisfied or resentful may be more likely to engage in malicious behavior.
• Secure behavior with isolated errors. Negligent insiders may exhibit secure behavior and comply with information security policies but cause security incidents due to isolated errors, such as storing intellectual property on insecure personal devices.
• Anomalous activity. Any anomalous activity could indicate an insider threat.

What to do if you detect an insider threat

As soon as you identify an insider threat in your company, follow the next steps to minimize the damage.

1. Contain the Threat: Immediately contain the threat by revoking the insider’s access to sensitive data and systems.
2. Investigate the Incident: Investigate the incident to determine the extent of the damage and identify the cause of the threat.
3. Notify the Appropriate Parties: Notify the appropriate parties, including law enforcement and affected individuals, if necessary.

However, if you have an Incident Response Retainer you can contact your security provider. Then, they will take every necessary step and measure following an attack. Leave every infected machine the way it is and ask for an emergency ransomware removal service. Restarting or shutting down the system may compromise the recovery service. Capturing the RAM of a live system may help get the encryption key, and catching a dropper file might be reverse-engineered and lead to the decryption of the data or understanding of how it operates.