Cyber Security: The Insider Threat

In an article posted by RSA Conference, the premier provider of global events and year-round online cybersecurity content, the contributor stated,

“In 2019, worldwide spending on information security products and services is estimated to reach over $124 billion.

However, the lack of internal collaboration contributes directly to data breaches in a number of ways. Studies of recent data breaches reveal that 70 percent of breaches are actually caused by people and process failures within the company. Contrast this with the fact that 60 percent of C-level executives believe that their current company solutions protect them well enough against hackers, vs only 29 percent of IT pros who believe the same.”

According to IBM’s 2015 Cyber Security Intelligence Index report, human error is almost always a factor in breaches. Although only 23.5% of cyber-attacks were carried out by inadvertent insiders (compared to 31.5% by malicious insiders), 95% of all breaches involved someone making a mistake.

And, in its 2019 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index report, IBM researchers observed that two of the most prolific ways inadvertent insiders leave organizations open to attack is by falling for phishing scams or social engineering, and through the improper configuration of systems, servers, and cloud environments, and by foregoing password best practices.

According to a Dell study which surveyed cyber security professionals, 59% listed managers as one of the biggest insider threats in cyber security, followed by contractors (48%), regular employees (46%), IT admin and staff (41%) and 3rd party service providers (30%).

So, what do all these quotes and statistics have in common? Cyber Threats and People, e.g., Insider Threat.

An insider threat is defined as a malicious threat to an organization that comes from people within the organization, such as employees, former employees, contractors or business associates, who have inside information concerning the organization’s security practices, data and computer systems. The threat may involve fraud, the theft of confidential or commercially valuable information, the theft of intellectual property, or the sabotage of computer systems.

The insider threat comes in three categories: 1) malicious insiders, which are people who take advantage of their access to inflict harm on an organization; 2) negligent insiders, which are people who make errors and disregard policies, which place their organizations at risk; and 3) infiltrators, who are external actors that obtain legitimate access credentials without authorization.

Of the estimated $124 billion spent on Cyber Security, how much is aimed at protecting your organizations information and systems from unauthorized insider misuse?

iSeek’s Insider Threat (InT) Assessment is an in-depth health check that identifies potential vulnerabilities, gaps in or lack of adherence to business processes, policies, procedures and governance, and management issues that open the door for insider threat incidents.

Our team of experts will devise a Roadmap to Develop, Adjust or Improve your organization’s Insider Threat program to proactively mitigate or recover from insider threat incidents.

For details about our Insider Threat (InT) Assessment, contact us today at info@iseeksolutionsinc.com. To learn more about iSeek’s solutions, check out our website, subscribe to our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn!