Dangers of Insider Threats to companies data

When it comes to cyber security threats, insider threats rank amongst the top culprits. One of the main reasons they are dangerous is because companies give more priority to other frequent threats such as malware attacks, hacking, and ransomware attacks among others. In addition, insider attacks may not be entirely malicious, with most of them being accidental. However, in this age of technological advancement where we are witnessing unprecedented growth in cloud storage, companies face even bigger threats in ensuring their data is safe.

How it happens

It can accidentally happen when an employee sends sensitive data to a wrong address. Employees can also accidentally invite malware by clicking an unsecured link or passing viruses or malware through an infected device such as a flash disk. It can also happen when an employee maliciously shares your company data for their own reasons such as for monetary gain, transfer of secrets or sabotage among other reasons.

Insider threats are considered very costly for a company since they can go undetected for a long period. Furthermore, they are hard to detect because it is hard to distinguish employee activity from regular work, while some employees may also cover their actions to avoid getting caught. This makes it hard to deal with the issue urgently, thus making it costly to remediate in the long run.

What can be done to avoid such threats?

To avert such threats, employees need to undergo proper security training. They should be trained on how to prevent mistakes that could compromise the data security of the company by observing effective security practices. While this will minimize the risk of employees accidentally compromising data security, it is also advisable to do thorough background checks to ensure your employees do not have malicious intentions. In addition, you should monitor the behaviour of your employees to make sure they are not engaging in suspect behaviour that can compromise the data of your company.