Insider Threats 101: How To Safeguard Your Networks From Within

The digital world is a bustling marketplace, but lurking among the legitimate vendors and customers are hidden adversaries: insider threats. Armed with authorized access and deep knowledge of your systems, these individuals can inflict critical damage.

Imagine disgruntled employees leaking confidential data, negligent colleagues falling prey to phishing scams, or even malicious actors sabotaging your infrastructure. The consequences can be crippling—financial losses, reputational damage, and even operational paralysis.

Fortunately, just like any cyber risk, insider threats can be mitigated with the right strategies. Some of these include the following:


1. Define The Insider Threat

Define The Insider Threat

Before implementing any security measures like a secure connect protocol, it is essential to understand the basics of insider threats. An insider threat refers to any attack, misuse, or compromise of network resources by someone with authorized access. This includes employees, vendors, contractors, interns, business partners, and anyone else with credentials to your systems.

It’s crucial to recognize that insider threats are not always due to malicious intent. They can also arise from unintentional actions such as negligence, carelessness, or a lack of awareness about security policies. Whether intentional or accidental, the access and knowledge of these individuals’ internal operations make insider threats particularly challenging and potentially detrimental.


2. Assess Your Risks

Not all organizations face equal levels of insider threat risk. Consider factors like:

  • Size of your network and number of users with access
  • Types of data and systems accessible on the network
  • Sensitivity level of confidential information
  • The complexity of data security policies and access controls
  • Employee training practices regarding security
  • Visibility into user activity on systems and networks

Conduct risk assessments to identify areas most vulnerable to insider misuse. Audit existing security controls and policies as well. This helps focus your insider threat strategy that will safeguard your business.


3. Establish Written Policies

Create formal, documented policies for data security and proper network use. These policies identify expectations and consequences for insiders. Consider policies like:

  • Acceptable usage of systems, devices, and internet
  • Authorization processes for access requests
  • Password policies, like complexity and updating
  • Data classification and handling standards
  • Remote work and bring your own device rules
  • Incident reporting and response plan

Educate all users on the policies. Have them acknowledge the rules in writing. Enforcing policies consistently helps mitigate insider threat incidents.


4. Implement Physical Security Measures

Physical security protects facilities and hardware like servers, computers, and documents from unauthorized access. Options such as badge access doors, locker rooms, and cameras help control on-site risks. Inventory management using barcodes and serial numbers also prevents device theft.

For off-site assets, enable device tracking, remote lock, and wipe capabilities in case of loss or theft. Structuring workspaces to prevent shoulder surfing of screens also helps avoid data leaks.


5. Utilize Access Management Solutions

Leverage access management tools to restrict insider credentials to only necessary systems. Solutions, including single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and access reviews, automate appropriate rights. Activity logging provides visibility into login attempts and system use.

Profile insider behaviors over time to detect anomalies suggestive of threat actors misusing approved access. Disable credentials immediately when employees terminate to prevent potential abuse of access by disgruntled former employees.


6. Monitor User Accounts For High-Risk Activity

Monitor User Accounts For High-Risk Activity

Analyze account activity and behaviors to identify potential insider risks before incidents occur. Some high-risk patterns include:

  • Accessing data and systems unrelated to one’s role
  • Downloading or emailing large data sets
  • Attempting access after being denied
  • Using excessive bandwidth through uploads or downloads
  • Remote logins outside of normal working hours
  • Multiple failed login attempts or shared account access

Tools like user behavior analytics and network monitoring help flag high-risk users for further investigation. The goal is early threat detection.


7. Perform Ongoing Security Awareness Training

Insider threats don’t always stem from malicious intent by employees. Often, insiders make mistakes simply from a lack of understanding of security policies and best practices. They may fall for social engineering tactics and click malicious links in emails.

Providing employees with cybersecurity and data privacy training significantly reduces these unintentional insider threats. Refresh training annually, at a minimum, to keep security top of mind for users with network access.


8. Inspect And Filter Outbound Network Traffic

To detect insider data exfiltration attempts in action, inspect outbound connections in real time. Firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and data loss prevention provide network traffic analysis. At a more granular level, tools like cloud access security brokers proxy traffic to filter malicious behaviors.

Log and retain network activity for a minimum of 90 days. This creates an audit trail to understand the full scope of any insider incidents that get discovered after the fact. However, some situations may require longer retention periods, depending on your needs.


9. Respond To Insider Threats Swiftly

Once an insider threat gets detected, respond swiftly to minimize damages. Have an incident response plan in place that designates roles for investigating, containing threats, eradicating footholds, recovering data, and applying lessons learned.

Escalate serious insider threat incidents to your legal and HR teams. Prosecute criminal cases when warranted. Follow protocols like restricting access during ongoing investigations. Failing to respond appropriately to insider threats leads to repeated incidents.


Conclusion

Insider threat mitigation requires constant vigilance. Regularly review which insiders have access to systems. Continuously monitor user activity for anomalies in behavior. Keep security policies and controls current to the latest risks. Maintaining robust defenses against this elusive threat enhances your overall data protection.

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