Insider Threat

Insider threats are security risks that originate from within an organization, including malicious employees, contractors, or compromised accounts.

Insider threats are hard to detect because insiders have legitimate access.

Types: - Malicious Insider: Intentional harm - Negligent Insider: Accidental exposure - Compromised Insider: Account taken over

Warning signs: - Unusual data access patterns - Working odd hours - Accessing unrelated data - Data exfiltration attempts - Resignation without notice

Controls: - Least privilege access - User activity monitoring - DLP (Data Loss Prevention) - Behavior analytics (UEBA) - Background checks - Offboarding procedures

Why It Matters

Insiders—whether malicious, negligent, or compromised—are involved in 60% of data breaches. Traditional perimeter security does nothing against threats that already have legitimate access. Detecting insider threats requires behavioral analytics, DLP, and least privilege access controls that limit what insiders can access and exfiltrate. Strong offboarding procedures are equally critical to prevent departing employees from taking sensitive data.

Key Points

60% of breaches involve insiders

Hardest threat to detect

Requires behavioral monitoring

DLP essential for data protection

Strong offboarding prevents departing threats

Applicable Compliance Frameworks

SOC 2 ISO 27001 HIPAA

Related Terms

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

DLP is a set of tools and processes that detect and prevent unauthorized transmission or storage of sensitive data outside the organization.

Access Control

Access control is a security mechanism that regulates who can view or use resources in a computing environment, ensuring only authorized users can access systems and data.

Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege grants users only the minimum permissions necessary to perform their job functions, reducing security risk.