Insider Threats: How to Identify and Mitigate Risks Within Your Organisation

We often look beyond our internal systems and controls for threats to data security, oblivious to the serious threats from within. According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, half of all data breaches in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa result from internal actors.

Intentional or accidental threats within your organisation can be incredibly detrimental to your operational integrity, brand reputation, and overall profitability. To keep you safe from such threats, we’ve highlighted the most effective ways to identify and manage such risks.

Let’s dive right in.

How to Identify Insider Threats

Insider threats are often discrete and fall under the radar. As such,  you need to stay on your toes and remain vigilant of internal cybersecurity threats. The easiest ways to identify these threats include:

Check for Unusual Login Behaviour

Your staff members have predictable login patterns. Typically, they sign into their accounts during regular work hours and in familiar locations. Logins that deviate from the norm should set off alarm bells. For instance, your IT administrator signing in from an unknown location at 3 AM in the morning is a red flag. This is likely not your IT admin but a bad actor looking to infiltrate your systems.

Monitor Unauthorised Application Use

Businesses and organisations invest heavily in cutting-edge software applications to remain competitive in today’s digital business landscape. These applications hold vast data stores and usually have privileged access with strict protocols. Investigate any unauthorised and excessive use of such applications immediately. They could be attempts to bypass security measures or illegally access sensitive information.

Unusual Privilege Escalations

IT admins grant employees access rights to sensitive information based on their roles and responsibilities. An unusual increase in employees with privileged access could mean your systems have been compromised.

Excessive and Random Downloads

Cloud computing allows employees and other interested parties to access and download company resources regardless of location. However, you should be on the lookout for unusual download patterns, especially when they involve sensitive data. Sudden peaks in data downloads at irregular hours could mean an insider threat is harvesting your data to sell it on the dark web or to competitors.

Ways to Reduce Internal Threats Within Your Business or Organisation

Taking proactive steps to combat internal security threats is the most effective strategy for ensuring the safety of your data and systems. To mitigate internal threats in your organisation, you’ll have to:

Train Employees on Security Awareness

Employees are your first line of defence against internal security threats. That’s why comprehensive employee training on how to recognize and respond to suspicious activity is essential. This training should cover crucial security pain points like:

• Phishing awareness
• Password management
• Device security
• Identifying social engineering attacks
• Best practices for data handling
• Incident reporting

Encrypt Your Sensitive Data

Data encryption means scrambling data to make it incomprehensible to unauthorised users. Only users with a decryption key can decrypt the data and restore it to its original form. Encrypting your data protects your sensitive information even when islanders gain unauthorised access.

Conduct Regular Data Backups

Disgruntled employees are easy prey for hackers and competitors looking to compromise or wreak havoc within your internal systems. Some attackers don’t want to steal your information; instead, they want to wipe your data clean and cripple your organisation.

As such, it’s important to backup your data regularly to swiftly restore operations in case of sabotage or regular data loss. The 3-2-1 approach is an excellent technique for data backup. This means having 3 copies of data backed up in 2 distinct storage media and 1 in a safe offsite location.

Establish Concrete Physical Security

A lack of proper physical security leaves your organisation vulnerable to internal threats. Attackers can briskly walk into your organisation’s headquarters, plug a USB drive into one of your computers, and install malware to corrupt your data files or bring down your entire network.

Consider implementing biometric authentication like fingerprint scanning to authorise access to sensitive areas. Also, install video surveillance in these areas and keep storage media with sensitive data under lock and key. Robust physical security measures can significantly reduce the likelihood of internal security issues since they not only prevent intrusion but also enhance overall awareness.

Say No to Internal Threats

A two-pronged strategy that addresses technological security safeguards and instils a culture of vigilance and accountability works best to mitigate internal threats within your organisation. Staying safe from these threats is not a one-time thing but an ongoing commitment that requires constant monitoring, evaluation, and a continuous feedback loop to improve security measures and ward off emerging threats. Of course, you can always seek help from industry experts for insights into fortifying your organisation against both internal and external threats. Talk to us today, and we’ll schedule an appointment to discuss tailored solutions for your organisation’s specific needs.