Insider threats have become one of the most challenging cyber security issues that businesses face today. Whether they’re the result of intentional actions, or unintentional mistakes, they can have far-reaching consequences, including data breaches. By understanding the nature of insider threats, however, and implementing robust IAM strategies, businesses can proactively defend themselves and keep their sensitive data secure.

Understanding Insider Threats

Just like the name implies, insider threats originate from within an organisation, and there are several different types. Malicious intent involves employees or contractors who choose to deliberately misuse their access privileges in order to steal data, sabotage systems, or inflict harm on the organisation they work for. Insider threats aren’t always caused by people acting maliciously. Negligence occurs when accidental actions such as clicking on phishing links or mishandling sensitive information. When this happens, employees can unwittingly expose their organisation to security risks. The third source, meanwhile, is compromised accounts. When user credentials are stolen, attackers can gain unauthorised access and operate undetected in the network. While there, they can do a lot of damage as well as steal data. Last year, it was reported that there was a 51% increase in the number of phishing emails sent from compromised accounts.

Real-World Impact of Insider Threats

As well as resulting in data breaches, insider threats can damage an organisation’s reputation with customers and stakeholders, and lead to financial losses. Earlier this year, Security Magazine reported that breaches caused by insiders cost an average of $15 million. Over the past few years, a number of high-profile incidents have underscored the repercussions that insider threats can have. In February 2022, Yahoo accused their former research scientist, Qian Sang, of stealing intellectual property to benefit competitor The Trade Desk. Sang, who had received a job offer from The Trade Desk, allegedly downloaded 570,000 sensitive files, including Yahoo’s AdLearn source code and strategic plans. A forensic investigation revealed that Sang had transferred the data to his personal storage devices and discussed using a cloud backup on WeChat.

In May last year, Tesla was also affected by an insider threat after two former Tesla employees leaked over 23,000 internal documents, totaling nearly 100 gigabytes, to a German news outlet. The stolen data included employees’ personal information, customer financial information, production secrets, and customer complaints. The breach exposed the personal data of 75,000 people, potentially resulting in a $3.3 billion GDPR fine for Tesla. Tesla has filed lawsuits against the two ex-employees, but specifics on how they were able to access the data remain undisclosed.

Role of IAM in Mitigating Insider Threats

IAM plays a key role when it comes to protecting your business from insider threats – as well as reducing the impact of any incidents. With IAM solutions such as the ones that we offer here at Infosec K2K, you can implement strict access controls and implement the principle of least privilege. By using strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication, businesses can ensure that the only users with access to sensitive data are those with the correct level of authorisation.

IAM solutions also allow organisations to set access permissions that have been uniquely tailored to specific job roles and responsibilities. Round-the-clock monitoring of users’ activities, paired with real-time alerts of any suspicious behaviour, also allows organisations to detect any suspicious behaviour and deal with it promptly. With our partners such as CyberArk, we offer a range of IAM solutions. Taking a proactive approach with IAM helps businesses to identify insider threats before they can cause any significant damage.

Best Practices for Mitigating Insider Threats

There are a number of ways in which businesses can strengthen their cyber defences and better protect themselves, which we’ve rounded up below. Adopting the principle of least privilege helps to reduce the impact of insider threats, as it limits users’ access rights to the absolute minimum that is necessary for them to perform their job. Conducting periodic reviews of user access permissions is also recommended. This way, you can be sure that ex-employees don’t still have access rights, or that users don’t have any unnecessary privileges.

Advanced analytics are useful for detecting anomalies in user behaviour. Unusual access patterns, or suspicious data transfers, can be indications of potential insider threats. Regular training programs to raise awareness about cyber security risks and best practices can also emphasise the importance of safeguarding sensitive information. Finally, regularly updating your organisation’s incident response plan is viral. You should make sure that it includes procedures for addressing insider threats and reducing any potential damage.

Insider threats present a major challenge for organisations of all sizes. Modern businesses require proactive measures to protect their sensitive data and critical systems. With the help of comprehensive IAM solutions, you can mitigate these risks, strengthen your defences, and maintain stakeholders’ trust. Combining strong authentication, access controls, and continuous monitoring, you can reduce the likelihood and impact of insider threats. At Infosec K2K, we specialise in tailored IAM solutions to effectively mitigate insider threats. With the cyber threat landscape constantly changing, IAM solutions are crucial for long-term cyber resilience.

Whatever solution you’re looking for, we can help. The experts at Infosec K2K can offer you specialist guidance, and help you find the product that’s the best fit for you.

Get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help you.