The security of an organization's data and systems is always paramount. While external threats often grab headlines, insider threats within the organization can be equally damaging and far more difficult to detect. In fact, every year, over 34% of businesses globally are impacted by such threats.
Insider threats could be current employees, former employees, contractors, or even business partners who have authorized access to the organization's network and systems. Its complexity increases when considering different technological environments like Cloud, Gen AI, and SaaS.
Each of these environments has its unique set of vulnerabilities and requires specialized strategies for insider threat prevention. This guide will explore insider threats across these different environments. We'll also look at the causes, risks, and, most importantly, the prevention strategies.
Understanding the different types of insider threats is the first step in creating an effective prevention strategy. Here are the main categories:
These are individuals who intentionally harm the organization by stealing data, sabotaging systems, or conducting other harmful activities. Their motives can vary from financial gain to revenge or even ideological beliefs. Malicious insiders often deeply understand the organization's systems, making their activities particularly damaging.
Example: A disgruntled employee who intentionally leaks sensitive customer data to a competitor.
Negligent insiders are not malicious in intent but cause harm through careless actions or ignorance. They might inadvertently send sensitive information to the wrong person, lose devices that contain confidential data, or fail to follow security protocols.
Example: An employee who accidentally emails a confidential document to a public mailing list.
In this case, the insider threat comes from an external source that has compromised an internal account. The account owner may be entirely unaware that their credentials have been stolen and are being used to access sensitive information or disrupt systems.
Example: An employee's login credentials are phished, and the attacker uses the access to steal proprietary information.
These are individuals from partner organizations, vendors, or contractors who have been granted some level of access to the company's systems. While their access is usually limited compared to full-time employees, they still pose a risk if they misuse their privileges or if their own systems are compromised.
Example: A vendor who has access to your supply chain system and inadvertently introduces malware, affecting your operations.
These are individuals who are planted within the organization specifically to conduct espionage or theft. Competitors, criminal organizations, or foreign entities may employ them. Moles are particularly dangerous as they enter the organization with the explicit intent of conducting malicious activities.
Example: A person hired by a competitor who gains employment in your organization to steal trade secrets.
Let's identify the common red flags that signal a potential insider threat.
Detecting an insider threat is challenging as the perpetrators are often individuals who have legitimate access to the organization's systems and data. According to a report, identifying and containing such a threat takes around 85 days. However, there are ways to prevent insider threats by identifying suspicious activities.
One of the most effective ways to detect insider threats is by monitoring user behavior. Behavioral analytics tools can track various activities, such as login times, data access patterns, and network usage, to establish a baseline of "normal" behavior for each user. Any deviations from this baseline can trigger alerts for further investigation.
UEBA takes behavioral analytics a step further by incorporating machine learning algorithms. These algorithms can analyze a broader set of variables and detect more complex patterns of suspicious activity. UEBA is particularly useful for identifying compromised insiders, where an external attacker might use an employee's credentials.
DLP tools can monitor and control data transfers across the organization's network. They can be configured to flag or block the transfer of sensitive information outside the corporate network, thereby preventing insider threats.
Strac offers a robust DLP solution that goes beyond traditional monitoring and control. It employs proprietary AI-based algorithms to identify sensitive data and enforce security policies effectively. Strac's DLP solutions are particularly useful for organizations dealing with complex data environments, as they offer features like continuous DLP scanning, real-time redaction, delayed redaction, alerts, notifications, blocking of sensitive data. Strac DLP can also go back in time and scan for sensitive data. This prevents data leaks.
Regularly reviewing and auditing access controls can help organizations detect unauthorized or unnecessary access to sensitive information. This includes monitoring third-party insiders who might have been granted access to certain systems.
Endpoint security tools can monitor the activities on individual devices like computers, smartphones, and tablets. These tools can detect suspicious activities such as unauthorized software installations or unusual data transfers.
Conducting regular security audits can help organizations identify vulnerabilities and assess the effectiveness of their current security measures. Audits can also reveal insider threats by uncovering irregularities or discrepancies in data access and usage.
Training programs can equip employees with the knowledge to recognize and report potential insider threats, thereby serving as a first line of defense.
Cloud computing has revolutionized how organizations store and manage data, offering scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. However, it presents unique challenges for insider threat mitigation. As per a report, 53% of organizations find it tougher to spot insider attacks in the cloud.
The very features that make the cloud advantageous, like accessibility and scalability, also create unique vulnerabilities. Let's explore these causes in detail.
Proactive measures are essential for mitigating the risks associated with insider threats in cloud environments.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) has opened up new technological frontiers, from natural language processing to image recognition. However, it also introduces more opportunities for insider threats.
The complexity of AI algorithms can sometimes make it difficult to detect when they have been tampered with. Let's delve into its specific causes:
Safeguarding Gen AI environments requires specialized security measures. Let's explore them:
Software as a Service (SaaS) offers a range of applications from email and collaboration tools to customer relationship management. However, the convenience and accessibility of SaaS platforms also come with their own set of challenges concerning insider threats.
The ease of access and user-friendly interfaces that make SaaS platforms so popular can also cause security risks. Here are some possible causes.
SaaS environments require a blend of technological and policy-driven solutions to effectively counter insider threats. Let's explore these preventive strategies.
As per the 2023 Insider Threat Report, nearly 74% of companies feel they are at some level of risk from insider threats, emphasizing the need for an insider threat prevention and detection program. Strac offers a comprehensive solution to mitigate these risks and keep your organization safe.
Strac uses advanced AI algorithms to instantly detect and redact sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) across various platforms. This ensures that even if an insider tries to leak or misuse data, the sensitive data is already redacted, rendering it useless for malicious purposes.
Strac also monitors how this data is used across your organization's network. The platform can identify any unusual or unauthorized activities by monitoring data usage patterns, providing an extra layer of security against insider threats.
Transparency is key when dealing with insider threats, and Strac provides detailed audit reports that track data access and usage. These reports can be invaluable during internal investigations and can also be used to demonstrate compliance during regulatory audits.
Strac has the ability to integrate seamlessly with a wide range of SaaS applications like Zendesk, Slack, Gmail, and Office 365. This means you can have a centralized solution for data loss prevention across multiple platforms, making it easier to manage and mitigate insider threats.
Read more about Strac's integrations.
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Strac helps organizations comply with various regulations like PCI, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA. This minimizes the risk of legal repercussions that can arise from insider threats.
Book a demo for Strac and secure your data from insider threats.
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