What is insider threat in Cyber Security

Introduction

Just one threat or information in the wrong hands can cost a company a lot.  There are both external and internal threats lurking in the digital realm. While external dangers tend to get more attention, the less obvious but equally dangerous internal threats can be disguised as something harmless. It's important to be aware of both types of insider threats and take measures to protect your organisation.

It can be a trusted employee with access to critical corporate data, a contractor with a seemingly innocuous job, or a hacked user account functioning within your organisation's boundaries. These are the probable sources of insider threats in cyber security of a company, which can endanger your data, reputation, and financial line.

In this article we will look into the complexity of Insider Threats, looking at what they are, how they appear, and, most importantly, why you should be concerned and the proactive actions you can take to protect your organisation. Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to safeguard your digital fortress. 

What are insider threats?

Insider threats are cybersecurity risks that come from people within your organisation. These risks can come from employees who mean well but unknowingly cause security problems or from employees who intentionally want to harm your organisation.

It's important to understand that not all insider threats are intentional. Even employees who don't mean to cause harm can still put their cybersecurity at risk through carelessness or lack of knowledge. Knowing the difference between these two types of insider threats can help you create customised security measures to keep your organisation safe.

Insider threats in cyber security don't just appear out of nowhere - they have a predictable lifecycle. Understanding this lifecycle, from the planning stage to the aftermath, provides a framework for recognising and managing risks at every step. By familiarising yourself with this lifecycle, you'll be better equipped to promptly and efficiently recognise and respond to insider threats.

Who are your Insiders?

Insider threats don't just come from disgruntled employees or criminals. Even well-meaning employees can accidentally compromise your business by not following security protocols or falling prey to external attacks. So, let's look at who your insiders are:

1. Pawns

Pawns are employees who unknowingly help attackers by falling victim to social engineering (manipulative tactics used to trick people into revealing sensitive information) or spear-phishing (targeted email scams). Attackers manipulate these employees into actions like sharing their login details or downloading harmful software.

2. Turncloaks

Turncloaks are employees who deliberately choose to betray their company. This could be for financial gain or out of a desire to harm the business. Turncloaks may also include whistleblowers—individuals who expose wrongdoings within the organisation, often with the intent to bring public attention to internal issues.

3. Collaborators

A collaborator is an employee who actively works with outside attackers, sharing sensitive company information like customer details or intellectual property (such as patents or trade secrets). Collaborators often do this for financial rewards or to disrupt business operations. Their insider access makes them especially dangerous since they can navigate security measures undetected.

4. Goofs

Goofs are employees who ignore or bypass your company's security policies, either out of convenience or because they believe the rules don't apply to them. While they may not intend to cause harm, their careless actions can leave systems and data exposed, providing an easy way in for attackers.

5. Lone Wolves

Lone wolves are individuals who operate on their own to exploit weaknesses in your company's systems. They seek to gain unauthorised access to sensitive areas like databases or administrative accounts (which control higher levels of access to important systems). Once they have this access, they can steal or manipulate critical data.

What are the types of insider threats?

Now, let's discuss the different types of insider threats:

1. Intentional insider threats

Intentional threats occur when an employee deliberately seeks to harm your organisation. These individuals may act out of revenge, dissatisfaction, or for personal gain. For example, they might leak sensitive data, sabotage company systems, or steal confidential information. 

2. Unintentional insider threats

Unintentional threats happen when employees unknowingly cause security issues. This can occur due to mistakes or negligence. These include:

• Accidental threats: These are mostly a result of human error. For example, an employee may send a sensitive document to the wrong email address by mistake, click on a malicious link in a phishing email, or fail to dispose of confidential information appropriately.

• Negligent threats: Negligent employees know the rules but choose to ignore them, exposing the organisation to unnecessary risk. Common examples include using weak passwords, losing portable storage devices like USB drives with important data, or ignoring IT security policies.

3. Third-party insider threats

Third-party threats come from individuals who are not direct employees but have a certain level of access to your organisation. These can include contractors, vendors, or partners who may compromise your security through negligence or malicious actions. If their systems are not secure, they can inadvertently pass on a threat to your entire organisation.

4. Collusive insider threats

A collusive threat involves an employee working with an outside attacker to compromise the organisation. This often occurs when a cybercriminal recruits an insider to steal intellectual property (such as trade secrets) or to assist in fraud. Collusive threats can be especially dangerous because they combine the insider's access with the external attacker's expertise.

5. Compromised insiders

A compromised insider refers to an employee whose credentials have been stolen by an external attacker. These employees may not be aware that their accounts are being used for malicious purposes.

These attacks are often launched through social engineering (manipulative tactics to trick employees into revealing sensitive data) or phishing (fraudulent attempts to steal credentials via fake emails or websites).

6. Negligent insider threats

Negligent insiders are often the largest source of insider threats. These employees aren't trying to cause harm, but their lack of attention to security protocols can lead to severe risks. A negligent insider might fall for a phishing scam, forget to install important security updates, or allow unauthorised individuals to access secure areas.

How does an insider threat occur?

Here's how different types of insider threats happen:

An insider threat occurs when an individual with authorised access misuses that access to harm an organisation. This can happen in several ways:

• Intentional actions: Malicious insiders purposely steal data, sabotage systems, or leak sensitive information for personal gain, revenge, or financial incentives.
• Unintentional errors: Employees accidentally expose data through mistakes like sending sensitive emails to the wrong addresses or people, falling for phishing attacks, or mishandling confidential information.
• Negligence: Carelessness, such as ignoring vital security protocols, using weak passwords, or losing devices with sensitive data, can lead to significant security breaches.

Who is at risk of insider threats?

Insider threats pose a risk to every organisation, regardless of size or industry. However, specific sectors are more vulnerable due to the amount and sensitivity of the data they handle. These include:

• Financial services: Organisations in the financial sector handle large volumes of financial data, including customer banking details and transaction records. The value of this data makes banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions prime targets for malicious insiders who could sell or misuse sensitive information for personal gain.

• Healthcare: The healthcare industry stores sensitive patient data, including medical records and personal health information. Insider threats in healthcare can lead to breaches of confidentiality, violating patient privacy, and potentially causing legal issues. Medical data is also highly valuable on the black market.

• Government: Government agencies are responsible for safeguarding classified information and managing critical infrastructure. Insiders with access to sensitive government data, such as national security information or classified reports, pose a significant threat if they leak or misuse that information.

• Technical services: Businesses in the tech sector, especially those dealing with intellectual property or advanced technologies, face insider threats from employees who may steal trade secrets or proprietary information. This data can be sold to competitors or hackers, causing substantial financial loss and reputational damage.

The impact of insider threats

Insider threats, whether intentional or accidental, can have a significant financial impact on your company. They can lead to data breaches, theft of intellectual property, and sabotage, all of which can result in substantial economic losses.

Your company's reputation is one of its most valuable assets in today's interconnected world. When insider threats lead to data leaks or security breaches, the impact goes beyond financial losses. It can also harm your brand's reputation. This can have long-term consequences, so taking preventative measures to protect your image is essential. We will discuss these strategies.

Navigating the complex world of cybersecurity rules and regulations can be daunting. Insider threats make it even more challenging, which can lead to legal and regulatory consequences.

They affect individual companies and can have severe implications for national security, particularly in areas such as defence and infrastructure.

Insider threat indicators

You can suspect insider threats to cyber security by mindfully looking at different actions. 

• Behavioural warning signs: To effectively prevent insider threats, you must be aware of the behavioural signs that may indicate possible problems within your organisation, such as changes in demeanour, attitude, or interactions with coworkers.
• Changes in working habits: Insider dangers might appear as changes in an employee's work practice. This might involve working unusual hours, engaging in unusual network activity, or departing from established procedures.
• Social engineering methods: Insider dangers are not necessarily malicious; they may also be cultivated through deception. Social engineering strategies used by hostile insiders or external actors to attack weaknesses in your organisation. Understanding these strategies is essential for effective defence.

Insider threat mitigation strategies

To protect against insider threats, educating and raising awareness among employees is essential. One effective way to achieve this is through a comprehensive training program that teaches staff about the risks and consequences of insider threats. By instilling a culture of accountability and awareness, you can empower your team to take proactive measures to safeguard your organisation.

In today's cybersecurity context, Many companies still use the "trust but verify" principle. However, this approach is no longer sufficient in today's cybersecurity context. Under the Zero Trust Security model, every person and device is considered untrustworthy by default. This means they must prove trustworthy before being granted access to sensitive information or systems. Therefore, By implementing Zero Trust Security principles, the risk of insider attacks can be significantly reduced.

Also, Insider threat prevention requires proactive detection. Which allows you to follow user activity, spot abnormalities, and respond quickly to any risks. A complete security plan must include real-time insight into your network.

The role of technology in insider threat prevention

• User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA): Technology is critical in recognising insider dangers in the digital era. User and Entity Behaviour Analytics (UEBA) examines user behaviours and entity activities using machine learning and advanced analytics. UEBA help you with insights into detecting abnormalities, allowing you to quickly discover and respond to possible attacks.
• Solutions for Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Insider attacks frequently target data, making Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions important. DLP technology helps you monitor and protect sensitive data by preventing unauthorised access, sharing, or exfiltration. DLP methods can dramatically improve your data security.
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Endpoints, such as laptops and mobile devices, are frequently used by insiders. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) technologies provide real-time monitoring and fast response. It assists you in identifying and neutralising threats at their source, hence minimising possible damage.
• Tools for detecting insider threats: Specialised solutions meant to detect insider threats abound in the cybersecurity arena. It provides numerous insider threat detection techniques that might help you improve your security posture. These solutions, from network traffic analysis to privileged user monitoring, enable focused defences against malicious and non-malicious insider attacks.

Insider threat prevention best practices

•  Creating an in-depth insider threat policy: A clear insider threat policy is the foundation of your preventative plan. It is through developing a detailed policy that specifies acceptable behaviours, reporting systems, and insider threat implications. This policy establishes clear expectations and reflects your dedication to security.
• RBAC (Role-Based Access Control): Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a key practice that limits system and data access based on employee roles. How RBAC reduces the attack surface by allowing workers the right to do their duties. You may decrease the potential effect of insider threats by deploying RBAC.
• Principle of least privilege: The Least Privilege Principle complements RBAC by restricting user access capabilities to the minimum required to complete their jobs. This idea helps to reduce insider threats by limiting workers' access to only the resources needed for their jobs. This strategy minimises the possibility of unintended or malevolent behaviour.
• Incident response strategy: Insider risks can arise even with the finest protective measures in place. It is critical to have a well-defined incident response strategy. The significance of planning for the worst-case scenario and how to respond quickly and efficiently when insider threats arise.

Legal and ethical considerations

While avoiding internal threats, walking the delicate line between security and privacy is critical. Maintaining individual privacy rights requires striking the correct balance.

• Legal frameworks and regulations: Several legal frameworks and policies govern data privacy and security. The rules like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and how they affect insider threat prevention. It is important to consider these legal standards to prevent any compliance concerns.
• Striking a balance between security and employee rights: Protecting employee rights when adopting insider threat prevention measures is critical. To strike a balance between security and individual liberty. This balancing requires ensuring openness, gaining informed permission, and preserving employee privacy.

Insider threats in remote work environments

The rise of remote work has created a new frontier of insider threat issues. The risks and vulnerabilities of remote work situations include insecure home networks and employee isolation. Understanding these issues is the first step towards reducing insider risks in a remote work environment.

In the age of telecommuting, securing remote access is critical to countering insider attacks. This is part of implementing secure VPNs, multi-factor authentication, and other technologies to harden your remote access points.

In addition, Effective remote employee monitoring is critical for recognising and responding to insider threats.  it is essential to monitor remote employee actions while maintaining privacy boundaries. Implementing remote monitoring tools and recommended practices may assist in keeping a remote work environment secure.

Conclusion

The war against insider threats cannot be won conclusively. Instead, it is a continuous effort that necessitates awareness, adaptation, and a dedication to security. Insider threats may originate from evil intent and unintended behaviours, making it critical to improve your defences constantly.

It's time to beef up your organisation's insider threat defences. Implement the tactics, technologies, and best practices to improve your cybersecurity posture. Develop an awareness, trust, and accountability culture in your organisation. 

Thus, By adopting a proactive approach to insider threats, you defend your company and demonstrate your dedication to preserving your data, reputation, and the confidence of your customers and partners. Your attention to insider threat avoidance demonstrates your resilience and commitment to a safe future in an ever-changing digital context. Contact us for cybersecurity services today.