This common sense guide to insider threat contains a comprehensive list of information security best practices, including a breakdown by organizational group and mapping to security standards. The guide includes checklists for each practice and incorporates the most recent results from the 2017 U.S. State of Cybercrime Survey. It is a practical guide for any organization, regardless of size or industry. To ensure the highest level of security, organizations should start by limiting privileged access and implementing social media guidelines.
Limit privileged access
In a recent report by Verizon, over one-quarter of attacks were internal. Unfortunately, insider threats are difficult to prevent because employees need access to sensitive data to do their jobs. Privileged access management (PAM) solutions are particularly effective at defending against insider threats. This post covers four practices to limit access and prevent insider threats. Read on to learn more about each. Hopefully, these practices will help you prevent an insider attack from damaging your organization.
A recent Ponemon Institute study on insider threat found that most organizations fail to detect insiders before a breach occurs. It found that 65% of organizations do not have policies in place to detect insiders, and a mere 16% felt confident they followed them. The problem is made worse by the fact that most insiders gain access to sensitive information when they transfer from one role to another. By limiting privileged access, organizations can prevent insider attacks before they occur.
Implement social media guidelines
Understanding social media threats and how to implement social media guidelines can help you avoid negligent insider incidents. Many organizations have banned their employees from using social media while on company business. However, these actions may not be sufficient to protect your company from the risk that can arise when employees engage in these activities while on the clock. Instead, you should educate your employees about the proper ways to use social media while working, and provide them with training on proper use.
Social media can be a major threat to your organization, as it is one of the easiest ways for bad actors to gain access to sensitive information. For example, bad actors often pose as employees or accept friend requests disguised as colleagues. This tactic is a classic example of social engineering. If an employee is aware of a threat, they may choose to disregard the warning. Nonetheless, employees may choose to disclose confidential information and share sensitive company information on social media.
Train security teams
An insider threat is an internal attack that can damage an organization, particularly in hybrid or remote work environments. Insiders have easier access to systems and have a longer window of opportunity to attack. In order to protect yourself and your business, you must put effective tools in place to prevent insider attacks. After all, no one wants an ex-employee deleting customer accounts. Fortunately, there are several simple ways to prevent insider attacks.
First, you need to train your security team on the “why” behind an insider threat. This includes training them on the tools, processes, and incident response strategies they need to deal with insider threats. Most importantly, training your employees to report any suspicious activity or behavior is essential. Human resources departments can notify the security team about employees who may be a threat and put them on a watchlist. This way, they can closely monitor their behavior and report any problems to the appropriate person.
Detect compromised accounts
One of the best ways to detect a compromised account is to monitor its usage and make sure that it does not have access to confidential data. For instance, an insider at SunTrust Bank compromised 1.5 million bank clients' personal information and handed it over to a criminal organization. To prevent such a scenario, it is important to limit access to administrators and restrict escalated privileges to a small group. Malicious insiders often resign without explanation, so it's advisable to check server logs for unusual behavior.
Another important part of a successful insider threat defense is the collection of user behavior analytics. To prevent such insiders from stealing sensitive data, employees should be prevented from sending emails at odd hours or from unusual locations. A good solution will learn about normal usage patterns and alert you to any suspicious email activity. Then, if any of these emails is unusual or suspicious, a system with AI/ML will immediately alert you to it.
Limit phishing scams
There are many steps an organization can take to limit the number of phishing scams that are able to reach its users. For starters, organizations should educate employees to spot suspicious emails and other online behavior. The following table lists some common signs of phishing scams. It is also a good idea to set up regular security awareness training for all employees. In addition, training employees to recognize suspicious emails and behavior can help reduce the number of insiders that become compromised.
Another way to limit phishing scams is by setting policies that govern who can access sensitive information. Insider threats can come from both legitimate and unauthorized employees. Employees need access to various resources, including the company's systems. Some of these employees may have sensitive information that can be exploited. By following these rules, employees will feel more secure while interacting with sensitive information. While some employees may be able to get away with phishing scams and still be productive, others should not be trusted with sensitive information.
Monitor user behavior
To avoid the possibility of an insider breach, IT security teams should monitor user behavior to detect suspicious activities. For example, monitoring privileged account access can help identify insiders who may be accessing data they were not meant to access. This can enable unauthorized third parties to obtain sensitive information. However, it is important to determine when this is normal behavior. Monitoring privileged account access requires constant, consistent monitoring. This is where UBA comes in handy.
In addition to outsider threats, insiders can be employees, contractors, or executives. An insider can use their access to organizational systems for their own ends, and they need to remain undetected to avoid repercussions. The challenge of preventing insider threats is that insiders typically have legitimate access to data, which makes it difficult to detect them. As a result, organizations should invest in security tools that allow them to track and monitor the behavior of these insiders and thwart malicious behavior.
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