I’m not suggesting there would be anyone on your team or inside your organisation that would commit an ‘Edwards Snowden’ level breach, but I have multiple case studies and living proof, that the risk of someone on the inside, as you’re reading this, is a clear present danger to the survival of your organisation.
It’s just a matter of time before they surface. Which means, you need to act now, not only so they don’t surface, but so you can address the source of the issue before it ever becomes a problem.
It’s an unfortunate fact, but individuals inside of public-facing organisations are frequently betrayed by individuals in a position of trust.
And for years, this threat has been ignored and ‘brushed under the carpet’ in favour of focusing only on external threats.
Because the external threat is easier to detect, easier to control, and it’s much more visible than the enemy from within — the insider.
Boaz Fischer is Australia’s Trusted Authority On Insider Risk Management. A cyber security expert par excellence, Boaz is the owner of five companies and a consultant for the Australian government. He’s made it his mission to help businesses understand the risks their companies face from insiders.
As far as cybercrime and cyber security are concerned, insider threats are the elephant in the room. It’s a subject that is often regarded as “taboo” and one that the experts would rather not discuss, in part because companies don’t want to consider the idea that parties within their organisations could be causing harm.
This level of ignorance isn’t limited to run-of-the-mill businesses, either. Tech giants, critical infrastructure organisations and even government agencies are woefully naïve regarding this potential threat. To complicate matters, while “insider threats” sound like a simplistic problem that should have a simplistic solution, nothing could be further from the truth.
Understanding that you face a threat from your employees can be difficult to take, but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t trust them. After all, you can’t sack everyone, and you certainly can’t do business without them. What you can do is understand the risks, how they present themselves and what you can do about them.
© 2022 Naked Insider, Level 1 Colbee Court, Phillip ACT, Australia Tel: +61 6282 5554