What do a disgruntled former employee and a vindictive associate with access to an organization’s critical data have in common? They are both high-risk insider threats. Although any cyberattack can be difficult to detect, it is especially difficult to spot insider threats. To avoid the brunt of these attacks, it is imperative to know what signs indicate an insider threat and use this to develop a security model that can defend your organization against these threats.
Despite insider threats being one of the top threats to organizations, traditional cybersecurity strategies seldom focus on them. This makes it harder for organizations to understand insider threats and mitigate them. As insider threats can also be a result of accidental misuse, it is crucial to understand the causes and effects of these threats. To mitigate the risks, organizations can implement a few helpful measures.
Protect the organization’s critical assets
Take inventory of all the critical assets in the organization, including intellectual property, information on internal processes, and customer data. This helps you plan, allocate, and revoke privileged access, ensuring that only the right users have access for the right amount of time.
Deploy solutions that can track employee activity around the clock
Collecting logs from employees’ devices helps you analyze employee activity and identify suspicious behavior. For instance, if there is any unusual activity, such as signing in to the network at 3 am or transferring large amounts of data over the network, it will be logged under suspicious activities. This helps you identify and mitigate insider threats effectively.
Enforce strict data protection policies across the organization
Document privacy and privilege management policies for your organization and educate employees about them. Organizations must maintain records of signed copies of employee acknowledgment forms stating that the employees have read and understood those policies.
Use insider threat detection software
ManageEngine ADAudit Plus leverages user behavior analytics to identify insider threats. It monitors privileged users, detects anomalies, and provides visibility into user activity, helping organizations detect every type of insider attack.
Because the repercussions of insider attacks can be disastrous for organizations in terms of financial and reputational losses, organizations must implement effective IT management solutions to identify and mitigate insider threats.
