What is an insider threat and what are its dangers?

Under the influence of technological advancements and the increasing reliance on digital systems and data, organizations face an increasingly complex threat landscape. While external dangers like cybercriminals and malware often receive more attention, some threats may arise within the organizations themselves—this is what we call an insider threat.

In many organizations, insider threats may not be considered a real possibility, as it challenges the trust relationship between employees and the company. Insider threats arise from individuals with legitimate access to the company's systems and confidential information who use this privileged position to cause harm—whether intentionally or not.

Although often overlooked, insider threats can cause severe damage to business integrity. Researchers found that internal data breach damages have an average annual cost of USD 11.45 million, according to a 2020 Ponemon Institute study.

In addition to financial losses, internal threats can harm companies in multiple ways—just like external threats. Want to understand what an insider threat is and its risks to companies? Keep reading this article to learn more!

What is an Insider Threat? An insider threat refers to internal dangers that jeopardize the security of a company's information, arising from individuals with access to the company's systems, such as employees, former employees, contractors, or business partners.

**Thus, insider threat is the term used to describe the risks that someone with authorized access can cause—intentionally or not—to systems, networks, information, operations, and data, putting the entire company's information security at risk through malicious activities or lack of data protection training.

It’s worth noting that insider threats do not always stem from individuals intentionally causing harm. Theft or forgery of credentials also constitutes an insider threat. Cybercriminals use various techniques—such as phishing—to gain authorized access and navigate the organization’s internal systems undetected.

How Do Insider Threat Attacks Occur? As mentioned earlier, the use of authorized credentials is a starting point for insider threat attacks, which makes detecting these intruders much more challenging.

There are six main ways insider threat attacks can occur. See below:

1. Unauthorized Access: Occurs when someone uses their legitimate credentials to access confidential information or systems they are not authorized to access.
2. Data Theft: An insider with malicious intent may copy or transfer the company’s confidential information for personal gain or that of others.
3. Privilege Abuse: When someone with privileged access to systems, networks, or sensitive data uses these privileges inappropriately, potentially altering security settings, deleting or modifying important data, or performing actions that harm the company’s operations.
4. Information Leakage: In this type of attack, the insider may disclose confidential or sensitive information to unauthorized individuals. This can happen intentionally or accidentally, such as sending emails to wrong recipients or clicking on fraudulent links.
5. Internal Fraud: Some insiders may engage in fraudulent activities within the organization, including embezzlement, manipulation of accounting records, falsification of financial transactions, or other illegal conduct for personal gain or to harm the organization.
6. Social Engineering: Involves psychologically manipulating people who are or have been part of the organization. In such cases, a criminal might convince someone with access to the company’s systems to provide confidential information or perform harmful actions through persuasion techniques.

How to Detect an Insider Threat Attack in Your Company? An insider threat attack can be quite stealthy, as attackers have unrestricted access to the company's systems, making it even harder to identify malicious activities.

Another point to highlight is that detection complexity varies depending on the business size. The larger the organization, the more challenging it is to investigate an insider threat—due to the larger number of people and departments to be analyzed.

**Despite these challenges, insider threat activities can be identified through user activity monitoring strategies, oversight, reports, and employee awareness.

Additionally, there are some indicators that can help in detecting an insider threat attack. Check them out:

Behavioral Indicators:

• When an employee or partner is dissatisfied or unhappy with the organization.
• Attempts by someone trying to bypass or force security barriers.
• Accessing company systems outside of working hours.
• Displaying resentment towards coworkers or management.
• Routine violations of organizational policies established by the company.
• Expressing a strong desire to resign or discussing other job opportunities.

Digital Indicators:

• Logging into business applications and networks at unusual times or outside of working hours.
• Unusual spikes in network traffic volume.
• Accessing resources without permission.
• Employees accessing data or information irrelevant to their role.
• Repeated requests for access to resources or files not relevant to the job.
• Use of unauthorized devices.
• Network scanning and deliberate search for confidential information.
• Sending information via email to addresses outside the organization.

What Are the Dangers of an Insider Threat? Just like external threats, insider threats can cause severe damage to digital security, including data breaches, information theft, privacy violations, fraud, financial manipulation, and also pose risks to the organization’s reputation.

The way an insider threat attack is conducted can bring irreversible damage to organizations because malicious activities can persist for years before detection—since actions may be concealed or even performed by individuals in significant positions.

**Another risk companies face in insider threat cases is the potential for regulatory penalties under data protection laws, such as fines, legal proceedings, and data usage restrictions discovered during audits.

**Besides cybersecurity issues, an insider threat can create a toxic work environment, fostering distrust among employees and damaging the reliability between the company and its partners.

How Can Cybersecurity Awareness Help Protect Your Company Against Internal Threats? As you have seen, insider threats usually arise from individuals close to the company with privileged access—even without malicious intent. Awareness is essential for everyone to understand the importance of data protection and how to behave securely in this environment.

**Moreover, training and digital security awareness initiatives are effective ways to strengthen the organization’s cybersecurity and privacy culture.

**Building this culture can minimize the chances of developing an insider threat in your organization by encouraging responsible behaviors and informing the team about the consequences of malicious activities.

**Additionally, it’s important to identify system vulnerabilities that could amplify the damage of an insider threat attack. Bug Bounty programs, for example, are a way to actively inspect cybersecurity systems for potential vulnerabilities that could compromise organizations in the future.

Now that you understand what an insider threat is and how it can harm your business, why not explore more and learn about other cybersecurity dangers in the digital world? On the BugHunt blog, you can learn more about cybercrimes and much more!