Employees are often heralded as a company’s most valuable asset, bringing a wealth of technical expertise, creative thinking and collaborative skills that drive the world’s leading innovators to unparalleled success.

However, they can also present substantial risks. Insider threats—security risks stemming from individuals within the organization, such as employees or partners with privileged access or knowledge—can affect any business, from sprawling enterprises to small and medium-sized companies.

Understanding the areas where insider threats are most dangerous is the first step in crafting effective detection and prevention strategies. Here are three ways insider threats put your company at risk and the steps you can take to mitigate those vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a significant challenge for every company in every sector, and the consequences of failure are increasingly steep. From millions of dollars in recovery costs to the long-term repercussions or irreversible reputational damage, cybersecurity is a problem that business leaders must address now.

Many know it, and they are allocating resources accordingly. PwC’s latest C-suite Playbook found that 85% of the top-performing companies plan to increase their cybersecurity spending in 2024.

However, 83% of data breaches involve external actors, but the real cybersecurity threat comes from inside the house, as these threat actors leverage company insiders to commit crimes.

According to Verizon’s most recent Data Breach Investigations Report, 74% of breaches “involved the human element, which includes social engineering attacks, errors or misuse.”

Whether employees are unaware of cybersecurity best practices (they often are) or are maliciously undermining cybersecurity standards, company insiders offer front-door access to sensitive data and IT infrastructure.

This is excellent news for companies because they can strategically invest in internal solutions that can significantly enhance their defensive postures. Practical solutions include:

● Creating a culture of cybersecurity awareness
● Training employees to recognize potential cyber threats
● Conducting regular training sessions
● Implementing endpoint security solutions
● Leveraging employee analytics to determine potential vulnerabilities.

No company wants to experience a cybersecurity incident. By giving attention to company insiders, every business can mitigate the risks of a data breach blowing their business goals off course.

Data Privacy

When Lukasz Krupski, a Norway-based Tesla employee, was unceremoniously fired by the company after heroically extinguishing an on-site fire and what The New York Times described as “complaining about what he considered grave safety problems at his workplace near Oslo,” he didn’t just take his personal belongings with him.

He also took a treasure trove of company data, including a list of company employees, their social security numbers and other personally identifiable information. It also included company data, like details about product challenges associated with one of its flagship products.

Mr. Krupski didn’t have to work hard to access this highly sensitive information. It was readily available simply by querying an internal company website.

The incident is certainly interesting, but it’s also not abnormal. Insiders have access to a company’s most sensitive information, and their trusted status means their actions often go unobserved until it’s too late.

Combating data privacy concerns requires a combination of human insight and technological sophistication.

As the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) explains, “An organization’s personnel are an invaluable resource to observe behaviors of concern, as are those who are close to an individual, such as family, friends and coworkers.”

At the same time, behavior analytics and endpoint monitoring solutions can mitigate the risk of insider threats, continuously monitoring digital activity to identify anomalous behavior that could indicate a problem and empowering leaders to investigate or respond.

Regulatory Compliance

From cybersecurity standards, like ISO 27001, to data privacy regulations, including Europe’s GDPR, companies are navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

It’s not just external factors making compliance difficult. Data visibility, onerous manual processes and high costs make compliance more complicated than ever.

Often, company insiders are the weakest link. Company insiders are a regulatory compliance hazard, whether they are compromising sensitive information, failing to take proactive measures to protect or collect needed information or other violations.

That’s why organizations need compliance management solutions that account for the biggest variable in compliance–the human element. These solutions will detect and block noncompliant activity, proactively preventing a costly compliance violation.

Insiders Pose Multifaceted Threats

While employees are the driving force behind innovation and success, they can also inadvertently or deliberately become conduits for disaster, including data breaches, privacy violations and compliance failures.

By investing in a robust insider threat prevention strategy that includes employee training, technological safeguards and a culture of vigilance, organizations can fortify their defenses and maintain the integrity of their operations.

A well-rounded insider threat prevention plan protects organizations against all forms of insider threats, malicious and intentional or negligent and careless. It’s a priority worth pursuing now, ensuring that employees are empowered to do their best work, and employers are protected from the worst possible outcomes.