Cybersecurity threats can come from anywhere these days. But while many companies focus on stopping external hackers, there’s an increasing threat from inside your organization that you should be aware of. Insider threats occur when individuals with access to your private company networks use that access for malicious intent or become compromised by external forces. Let’s take a look at how these silent killers can cause damage, costing your company millions in downtime and destroy your reputation beyond repair. We’ll also show you how Cyber Security Hive can help.
Insider threats are typically categorized into three main types. Each type represents a unique threat and requires different security measures to be properly protected against.
Who They Are: Employees that deliberately misuse their access to steal, harm, or spy on your company.
Example: When an employee steals money from the company cryptocurrency wallet.
Impact: Malicious insiders are responsible for some of the most devastating security breaches in recent years. Their motives can range from financial gain, revenge, to even spying for another competitor company. Protecting your business from these insider threats can be difficult as they require you to understand human behavior.
Who They Are: Employees that fall victim to hackers who use their login credentials to break into your systems.
Example: Say one of your employees falls for a phishing scam and unknowingly gives a hacker their username and password. The attacker can then use their credentials to access your private networks undetected for months.
Impact: Since compromised employees have valid login credentials, it’s much easier for them to bring down your security system. Companies that aren’t using advanced threat detection tools are putting themselves at risk for data breaches and intellectual property theft.
Who They Are: Employees who unintentionally cause a security breach.
Example: When an employee fails to click a security link in an important company email or they use “password123” as their password.
Impact: Careless insiders are the most common type of insider threat. Although some incidents are malicious in nature, most of the time employees don’t realize they are causing a threat to your company’s security. Not only can careless employees cost your business millions in downtime, but they can also easily be prevented with the right training.
Mitigating the dangers of insider threats starts with a strong foundation of cybersecurity. From there, you can define which type of insider threats are most likely to target your business and take steps to prevent them.
The first step to protecting your business from insider threats is to educate your employees. Most businesses assume that their employees know how to detect phishing scams and the importance of strong passwords. But the truth is the human element of cybersecurity is often the weakest link in any security chain.
Phishing scams and social engineering attacks are some of the most common security breaches. Run your employees through these types of attacks in a controlled environment so they know what to look for if/when they happen.
Just like cybersecurity, cyber threats continue to evolve. Make sure to consistently update your training material so your employees are up-to-date on the latest cyber attacks.
You can’t stop insider threats if you don’t know they’re happening. By utilizing advanced monitoring tools, you can detect suspicious user behavior.
If a user typically works 9-5 Monday-Friday, then they shouldn’t be logging into your private network at 2 am on Saturday. These are just some of the things you can monitor and set up alerts for to help detect suspicious activity.
Employees should never fear punishment for reporting suspicious activity. If they think they’ll get in trouble, they may be less likely to report something. Make sure your employees know that reporting suspicious behavior is what your security protocols are there for.
You don’t want just anyone in your company to have access to sensitive private data. Limit access privileges to only those who absolutely need it.
Only give employees access to the information they need to do their jobs. If they no longer need access to certain private directories because their job role has changed, disable their access immediately.
As we mentioned before, employees can be the weakest link in your security chain. Make sure employees are forced to use strong passwords and secure methods of authentication like two-factor authentication (2FA). Here are a few ways to enforce strong password policies.
Employee passwords should be a mix of upper and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers. Weak passwords like “Summer2021!” are far too guessable these days. Require your employees to use passwords that are at least 12 characters and include numbers and symbols.
Just as bad as weak passwords, is reusing the same password across multiple platforms. Teach your employees to create a unique password for each log-in your company uses.
This one goes for outside hackers as well. Make sure you’re updating all of your systems with the latest patches. Install those patches as soon as they become available.
Much like automated vulnerability scanning, patch management software will update your systems quicker and easier than doing it manually.
Lastly, perform regular vulnerability assessments. These assessments will help you find vulnerabilities within your network that hackers could exploit.
Insider threats are every bit as dangerous as outside hackers. If not more. There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who knows your inner workings and has access to private company data. But as long as you have the right tools and education in place, you can prevent harmful insiders from stealing or damaging your company’s valuable information.
At Cyber Security Hive, we offer penetration testing, security consulting, and managed security services that can prevent cyber attacks from both outside and inside actors. Contact us today to see how we can help secure your company’s future.
Take action against insider threats today. Contact Cyber Security Hive at contactus@cybersecurityhive.com or +91-9901024214 for more information on how we can keep your business safe from cyber attacks, both from outside and inside threats.