Insider Threats
What Are Insider Threats in Cybersecurity?
Insider threats are security risks posed by individuals within an organization such as an employee, contractor, or former employee with authorized access to an organization’s data, systems, or processes. An insider threat is the risk of intentional or accidental exposure of critical data, operation disruption, or system damage.
Organizations can mitigate insider threats by implementing access controls, performing background checks on new hires, and implementing cybersecurity tools to automatically identify and alert on suspicious activities.
What Are Common Indicators of Insider Threats?
Common indicators of insider threats include:
- Attempts to access information outside of an individual’s job
- Suspicious activity after employment status changes (quit, laid off, or fired)
- Unusual behavior patterns
- Excessive downloads
- Security policy violations
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How Can You Prevent Insider Threats?
Organizations can prevent insider threats through the following actions:
- Implementing strong role-based access controls
- Screening potential new hires before onboarding
- Creating an incident response plan for detection and response
- Educating employees about their data protection responsibilities and potential repercussions
- Monitoring user behaviors and activities for anomalies
- Adding data loss prevention (DLP) systems for backup protection
How Does PlexTrac Help With Insider Threat Prevention?
PlexTrac was built to help organizations aggregate data from all their proactive activities, prioritize internal and external security risks, and support collaboration on remediation. As the #1 AI-powered pentest reporting and vulnerability data management platform, PlexTrac empowers cybersecurity teams to address the most critical threats and vulnerabilities efficiently.
Request a demo today to see how PlexTrac can save you time, reduce risk, and close the loop on continuous validation.