Top 5 Insider-Related Threats And How To Avoid Them

by | Mar 31, 2015 | Business

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Organizations are investing heavily in preventive measures and numerous solutions to protect important business data. Now, these solutions can include anti-virus software, firewalls, and network protection for safety against cyber threats like viruses, Trojans, and hackers. But did you know your organization is equally at threat from the inside?

Who knows your most trustworthy employees is planning on ripping you off by stealing, altering or accessing private and confidential business data? Or, perhaps it could be one of your vendors or customers? So, how can you protect yourself? Well, let’s take a look at these top 5 insider-related threats and how to avoid them to find out:

1. Management Mindset

Please note that insider-related threats need not only be concerned with employees, customers or vendors. In fact, having a mindset that ‘Oh, I don’t have anything of value for the bad guys’ is also a direct threat to your business. This is mainly because such a mindset will prevent you from investing in appropriate security measures, thus allowing real INSIDER threats to actually harm your business. To avoid this from happening, invest in an effective solution to make sure you meet all compliance requirements.

2. Unlimited Access to Information

Assuming that some entities don’t have access to sensitive information is another insider-related threat. Be it business partners, vendors, contractors, employees, or less visible users, it is not uncommon for people who are unauthorized to access certain information regarding your business. Who are they and what do they have access to? To answer this question, it is imperative to invest in an Identity Based Threat Detection or Fraud Detection Analysis tool.

If you are unable to focus on the right target, it is impossible for you to hit your mark. Many businesses aren’t even aware of the threat they are dealing with and where to look. In most situations, this can be due to the poor management of user data and contextual Identity of employees. In other situations, it can be people mixed up and helping each other to ignore key information. You can prevent this by streamlining your identity management department.

3. Data Loss through Mobile Phones

You see, there are many types of insider-related threats that can hamper the efficiency of your business’ processes. Every single employee or person nowadays uses a smartphone, tablet, iPad or other mobile devices. The mere lack of encryption and passwords on these devices can make it easier for potential threats to steal important information from your employees regarding your business. To avoid this from happening, make sure to invest in a Risk Analytics Solution.

4. Improperly Secured Software

Be it improperly secured software, file-sharing on the cloud, or malware-infected websites, without the use of proper security measures or solutions, all your business information is at risk. Additionally, even the careless use of Wi-Fi is a threat worthy of its own designation. Employees sending emails or browsing websites carelessly is the reason why insiders are responsible for many problems of security and IT.

Now, there are plenty of ways you can avoid these insider-related threats. However, if you are looking for the ultimate solution to cover all grounds of insider threats, then consider investing in Gurucul’s Insider Threat Deterrence Solution, which continuously monitors insider-related threats, profiles, and even abnormal behavior of employees to protect your organization.

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