{"id":14845,"date":"2023-11-22T14:05:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T14:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessyield.com\/tech\/?p=14845"},"modified":"2023-11-22T14:06:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T14:06:00","slug":"insider-threat-definition-types-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessyield.com\/tech\/cyber-security\/insider-threat-definition-types-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider Threat: Definition, Types & Examples","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An insider threat is a category of risk posed by those who have access to an organization’s physical or digital assets. These insiders can be current employees, former employees, contractors, vendors, or business partners who all have — or had — authorized access to an organization’s network and computer systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While external threats are more common and grab the biggest cyberattack headlines, insider threats\u2014whether malicious or the result of negligence\u2014can be more costly and dangerous. According to\u00a0IBM\u2019s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023<\/a>, data breaches initiated by malicious insiders were the most costly\u2014USD 4.90 million on average. This is 9.5% higher than the USD 4.45 million cost of the average data breach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, a recent report from Verizon revealed that while the average external threat compromises about 200 million records, incidents involving an inside threat actor have resulted in the exposure of 1 billion records or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding insider threats<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An insider threat is a security risk that originates from within the targeted organization. It typically involves a current or former employee or business associate who has access to sensitive information or privileged accounts within the network of an organization, and who misuses this access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, an insider threat in cybersecurity refers to an individual using their authorized access to an organization\u2019s data and resources to harm the company\u2019s equipment, information, networks, and systems. It includes corruption, espionage, degradation of resources, sabotage, terrorism, and unauthorized information disclosure. It can also be a starting point for cybercriminals to launch\u00a0malware\u00a0or\u00a0ransomware attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insider threats are increasingly costly for organizations. The Ponemon Institute\u2019s 2020 Cost of Insider Threats<\/a> research found that this form of attack cost an average of $11.45 million and that 63% of insider threats result from employee negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional security measures tend to focus on external threats and are not always capable of identifying an internal threat emanating from inside the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insider threat individuals<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Insider threat individuals are typically split into two types of actors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Pawns<\/strong>. These are company employees manipulated into carrying out malicious activity, such as disclosing their user credentials or downloading malware. Pawns are often targeted by attackers through\u00a0social engineering\u00a0or\u00a0spear-phishing\u00a0campaigns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Turncloaks<\/strong>.\u00a0A turncloak is an employee who actively turns on their employer. Turncloaks often act to gain financially or to cause harm to an organization. However, turncloaks also include whistleblowers, who serve to bring public attention to the failings of their employers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Additional insider threat individuals include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Collaborators<\/strong>.\u00a0This is an employee who collaborates with a cyber criminal and uses their authorized access to steal sensitive data, such as customer information or intellectual property. Collaborators are typically financially motivated or reveal information to disrupt business operations.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Goofs<\/strong>.\u00a0A goof is an employee who believes they are exempt from their organization\u2019s security policies and bypasses them. Whether through convenience or incompetence, goofs\u2019 actions result in data and resources going unsecured, which gives attackers easy access.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Lone wolf<\/strong>.\u00a0These are attackers who work alone to hack organizations or seek out vulnerabilities in code and software. They often seek to gain elevated levels of privilege, such as database or system administrator account passwords, that enable them to gain access to more sensitive information.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Types of insider threat<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Types of insider threats include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Malicious insider<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Also known as a Turncloak, someone who maliciously and intentionally abuses legitimate credentials, typically to steal information for financial or personal incentives. For example, an individual who holds a grudge against a former employer, or an opportunistic employee who sells secret information to a competitor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Malicious insiders are usually disgruntled current employees\u2014or disgruntled former employees whose access credentials have not been retired\u2014who intentionally misuse their access for revenge, financial gain, or both. Some malicious insiders \u2018work\u2019 for a malicious outsider, such as a hacker, competitor, or nation-state actor\u2014to disrupt business operations (plant malware or tamper files or applications) or to leak customer information, intellectual property, trade secrets, or other sensitive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Turncloaks have an advantage over other attackers because they are familiar with the security policies and procedures of an organization, as well as its vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Careless insider<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      This is an innocent pawn who unknowingly exposes the system to outside threats. This is the most common type of insider threat, resulting from mistakes, such as leaving a device exposed or falling victim to a scam. For example, an employee who intends no harm may click on an insecure link, infecting the system with malware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Careless insiders do not have malicious intent but create security threats through ignorance or carelessness. This includes falling for a\u00a0phishing\u00a0attack, bypassing security controls to save time, losing a laptop that a cybercriminal can use to access the organization\u2019s network, or emailing the wrong files (e.g., files containing sensitive information) to individuals outside the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A mole<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      An imposter who is technically an outsider but has managed to gain insider access to a privileged network. This is someone from outside the organization who poses as an employee or partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Insider threat warning signs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      To build awareness and improve the detection of insider threats, the following common signs could indicate the presence of inappropriate insider activity in an organization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n