One of the most difficult types of attacks to detect are those performed by insiders.
An “insider” would be anyone that has legitimate access to your company network and data. This would be via a login or other authorised connection.
Insiders have authorised system access, they bypass certain security defenses, such as those designed to keep intruders out. Since a logged-in user isn’t seen as an intruder, those security protections aren’t triggered.
There are three
troubling statistics from a recent report by Ponemon Institute They illustrate the importance of addressing this threat. These attacks are getting worse, taking longer to detect and becoming more extensive.
The report found that over the last two years:
- Insider attacks have increased by 44%
- It takes organisations 85 days to contain an insider threat, compared to 77 days in 2020.
- The average cost of dealing with insider threats has risen by 34%
It’s important for companies to understand what makes up an insider threat. That’s the first step towards mitigation.
4 Types of Insider Threats
One reason that insider threats can be hard to detect is that there is not just one kind. Employees, vendors, and hackers can all perpetrate insider security breaches. To make detection even harder, some may be malicious, and others accidental.
Here are the four main types of insider threats faced by company networks.
Malicious/Disgruntled Employee
A sales employee that is leaving the company may decide to take all their contacts with them. This is in fact a malicious theft of company data.
Another example of this type of insider attack is a disgruntled employee. They may be upset with their manager who just fired them and consciously decide to do the business harm. They could plant ransomware or make a deal with a hacker to give over their login credentials for cash.
Careless/Negligent Employee
Some insider threats are due to lazy or untrained employees. They don’t purposefully mean to cause a data breach. But, they could accidentally share classified data on a non secure platform. They could even use a friend’s computer to access their business apps. Of course, completely unaware of the security consequences.
3rd Party with Access to Your Systems
Outsiders with access to your network are also a valid concern. Contractors, freelancers, and vendors can all constitute an insider breach risk.
Ensuring that these third parties are fully reviewed is important. Do this before you give them system access. You should also allow your IT partner to review them for any data security concerns.
Hacker That Compromises a Password
Compromised login credentials are one of the most dangerous types of insider threats. This has now become the
#1 driver of data breaches around the world.
When a cybercriminal has an employee’s login, that criminal becomes an “insider.” Your computer system will read them as a legitimate user.
Ways to Mitigate Insider Threats
Insider threats can be difficult to detect after the fact. If you put mitigation measures in place you can stop them in their tracks. Being proactive keeps you from suffering a costly incident. One that you may not know about for weeks or even months.
Here are some of the best tactics for reducing insider threat risk.
Thorough Background Checks
When looking at hiring new employees, ensure you do a thorough background check. Malicious insiders typically have red flags in their work history. You want to do the same with any vendors or contractors that will have access to your systems.
Endpoint Device Solutions
Mobile devices now make up about
60% of the endpoints in a company. Even with this fact, many businesses aren’t using a solution to manage device access to resources.
Put an endpoint management solution in place to monitor device access. You can also use this to safelist devices and block unauthorised devices automatically.
Multi-factor Authentication & Password Security
One of the best ways to fight credential theft is through multi-factor authentication. Hackers have a hard time getting past the 2nd factor. This is because they rarely have access to a person’s mobile device or FIDO security key.
Couple this with strong password security. This includes things like:
- Requiring strong passwords in your cloud apps
- Using a business password manager
- Requiring unique passwords for all logins
Employee Data Security Training
Training can help you mitigate the risk of a breach through carelessness. Train employees on proper data handling and security policies governing sensitive information.
When we've done our training days in Mount Isa and Gladstone, we hear only amazing feedback from how many things staff from these small-medium sized businesses learn.
Network Monitoring
Once someone has user access to your system, how can you catch them doing something wrong? You do this through intelligent network monitoring.
Using AI-enabled threat monitoring you can detect strange behaviours as soon as they happen. For example, someone downloading a large number of files. Or someone logging in from outside the country.
Need Help Putting a Stop to Insider Attacks?
A multi-layered security solution can help you mitigate all four types of these insider threats. We can help you with a robust yet affordable solution. Contact us today for a free consultation.
