It’s not uncommon for modern businesses to be on the lookout for cybersecurity threats. This is because more transactions are shifting toward digital spaces. Since vital exchanges to bank transfers occur online, it’s important to secure your online channels by reinforcing your cybersecurity. However, not all threats will always come from strangers on the net. Sometimes, the greatest threat to your company’s security can come from within.
Understanding Insider Threats
Unlike external threats from cybercriminals, insider threats come from people that directly have access to your business’s security protocols. These individuals can be current employees, previous employees, or accomplices who’ve gained authorisation details to your IT infrastructures. They are classified as follows:
- Lone Wolves: Lone wolves don’t function with a group but can be the most dangerous among insider threats. This is because they have access to your database and are usually database administrators, allowing them to cover their tracks with ease.
- Turncloaks: Turncloaks intentionally abuse their authorisation to your security systems to steal financial or personal information from your business. They are employees who either sell data for personal gain or collect data to sell to your competitors.
- Collaborators: Collaborators have connections with a third party to sabotage your operation. They are usually under the employ of another business, usually a competitor or a group of cybercriminals. Even this limited access to your company’s digital databases will be enough to allow hackers to infiltrate your company’s files.
Detecting Insider Threats
Threat intelligence tools focus on detecting external threats from networks, computers, and application data beyond your local servers. Although it’s a viable method of protecting your business from outside threats, it does little to protect you from authorised individuals misusing their privileged access.
While you can’t entirely predict an insider threat, there are several indicators that your business is at risk of an insider threat. Watch out for these five red flags among your staff:
- Disgruntled behavior against management
- Violation of organisational policies
- Attempts to request higher-level security
- Odd working hours
- Resentment towards peers
If you spot any of these red flags among your staff, you may want to perform an update on all your authorisation passwords and protocols. Besides looking for these behavioral signs, you can also spot insider threats through your digital networks. Look for these five digital indicators from your IT infrastructures:
- Unusual login times at odd hours
- Surges in network traffic
- Requested access to private data
- Unauthorised use of USB drives
- Network crawling for sensitive information
Protecting Your Business from Insider Threats
You can defend your business from insider threats through two fronts. The first involves being more mindful of your staff’s behavior. Business owners who are careless in running their business are more likely to miss the red flags mentioned above.
On the other hand, you can perform routine audits of your cybersecurity to double-check the security of all data networks. Doing so will ensure that your digital assets will have proper protection from unauthorised access or attempts at corrupting them from your servers.
Not all insider threats come from malicious individuals. In fact, careless insider threats are instances where human error or poor judgment leads to compromises with your IT infrastructure. Although this is easily avoidable, it’s important to reinforce your cybersecurity protocols from the ground up. Doing so will ensure that your business isn’t at risk of intentional or unintentional insider threats.
Unfortunately, not all businesses are capable of protecting their own IT infrastructures. This is why our team at FraudWatch is committed to reinforcing your business’s digital defenses. If you need to partner with a reliable brand protection company, contact our brand protection specialists today!