Some organizations, in their activities, in addition to external threats, may encounter internal – insiders. This problem is often underestimated, although theft of information can cause severe damage. While in business consequences involve financial losses, the country’s security may be at risk in the military sphere. The development of new technologies, personal mobile devices, cloud storage, and other similar aspects that affect information storage in the modern world make organizations even more vulnerable. Despite the difficulty of identifying such a threat, identification of some signs can help prevent it.
Insiders are often guided by a desire to gain financial benefit, revenge, or share information by accident. Negligence is prevented by proper training, and with other motives, it is crucial to look for warning signs. Examples are an employee’s atypical activity as a presence in non-working hours, requesting information not related to direct duties, or copying data. Changes can also be noted in behavior – attackers can take advantage of employee weaknesses – alcohol or drug addiction, or the presence of financial problems.
To prevent a threat, it is necessary to monitor personnel activity, confidential files’ location, and access to them. When using technologies, organizations can install special tracking programs that use artificial intelligence for analysis. Considering the importance of classified data in the military sphere, verification of suspicious employees can be carried out with the help of disguised agents. For example, in 2011, a sailor who tried to sell information to an undercover FBI agent was identified in this way (Slavin, 2011). The insider was guided by a financial motive and wanted to offer further cooperation on data issuance for several years to come. Since the buyer was an FBI agent, the threat was prevented.
Thus, an insider threat is malicious actions that employees within the organization commit. It is manifested in the harmful use of important information or its sale. Insiders usually show signs of their intentions, for example, requesting information not related to their duties or working overtime. Threat prevention is possible through additional file control and behavior analysis. In some cases, more rigid actions may be needed, such as checking employee with a secret agent.
References
Slavin, E. (2011). Sailor charged with espionage, attempting to sell classified information. Stars and Stripes. Web.