Articles
The 3 types of insider threat
Why does your competitor have your latest research or financial figures? It must be an insider -- or is it?
Before the digital revolution, security professionals were kept awake at night worrying about the potential threat posed by an untrustworthy member of their organization. Commonly referred to as the "insider threat," this person possibly had privileged access to classified, sensitive or propriety data; providing the insider a unique opportunity, given his or her capabilities, to remove information, predominately in paper form, from the facility and transfer it to whomever they desired.
Over the years, extensive knowledge has been accumulated on ways to identify and counter the insider. Centuries of experience indicates that insiders are mainly motivated to steal information for money, ideology, ego or due to coercion. Through understanding these motivations, personnel security programs were established to help identify employees who may be potential insider threats. For instance, if an employee in serious financial debt is determined to be vulnerable to one of these motivations, then the security professional may deem it best, with the Commanders approval, to temporarily suspend their access to sensitive information.
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