Unintentional Insider Threats

We typically think of threats to our organization as external forces. These can be hazards coming from hackers, competitors, or thieves. Surprisingly, threats often come from inside your organization, including your trusted employees.

Errors caused by negligence or ignorance are a form of insider threat. As we spoke about in our last blog post, an insider threat is associated with a person who has authorized access to data, computer systems, or security practices and misuses their privileges in a way that damages the company. The individuals connected with unintentional insider threats are referred to as pawns.

Unintentional insider threats most commonly happen by accident. Of course, to avoid these types of threats, organizations must be proactive in protecting their business assets and sensitive data. Management and IT have a duty to protect their organizations and to help employees from becoming pawns. They also have a responsibility to mitigate the harmful effects should threats surface.

Common ways that scammers dupe employees into becoming pawns include:

• Encouraging workers to visit a malicious website
• Impersonating a manager by way of a phishing email
• Creating elaborate social engineering scams

The best defense is a good offense. So, teaching employees to spot cyber threats is essential for protecting your business. Smart organizations help their employees understand the traps that malicious actors set. Ongoing cyber security training can make a big difference.

Untrained employees are often negligent without realizing it. Some examples include,

• Leaving sensitive company information exposed in a public place
• Improperly disposing of company equipment or data
• Sharing account access with others
• Postponing important security updates

When employees expose companies to unintended risks, the consequences to the business can be dire, including:

• Governmental fines
• Reputational damage
• Loss of business or partnerships

The fallout from an unintentional insider threat may force a business to announce layoffs, make budget cuts, enact hiring freezes, and worse. Additionally, despite employees not intending to cause damage, they often cannot be absolved of their actions. Consequences frequently include demotion or termination.

Do you need help addressing threats in your organization? Have you considered contacting a professional cyber security training company? Athreon is among the most respected and best cyber security training companies your organization can hire. To shore up your defenses, contact Athreon for more details about protecting your business from insider threats. Be sure to ask about Athreon’s free cyber security consultation.