COLUMNS

Employees Can Be the Biggest Threat — and Asset — for Workplace Security Programs

Aug 13, 2019 | 09:00 GMT

U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks to the Council of Europe videoconference in June 2014.

Insider threat actors can include current or former employees, contractors like Edward Snowden (pictured), service providers and business partners.

(FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • The intimate knowledge that insiders have of an organization's security programs, policies and procedures put them in a position to cause significant damage, whether by conducting an act of workplace violence, corporate espionage or another crime.
  • Insider threat actors can include current employees, former employees, contractors, service providers or someone working for a business partner (such as a web-hosting service). 
  • While security teams may provide leadership on the issue, protecting against insider threats is really a corporatewide responsibility. 
  • It's not enough to continuously monitor employees; all staff members at an organization should also know how to recognize suspicious behaviors and who should be informed of them.

For companies and other organizations, sometimes the biggest threat comes from within. Beyond knowing the ins and outs of a facility and having a reason to be there, an "insider" can develop a detailed understanding of internal security programs, policies and procedures to help them plan out and conduct their crime.  At Stratfor, we think about the insider threat a lot as our team frequently analyzes incidents pertaining to our clients and subscribers. Insiders can pose an array of threats depending on the nature of the targeted organization. In other words, an elementary school will likely be more concerned with protecting children’s physical safety than a manufacturing company. Thus, it is important to ensure your security program protects against the full scope of threats that may impact your specific institution via comprehensive and cross-departmental efforts. ...

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