Insider Threat

Insider threat is defined as any risk created by the action or inaction of employees, contractors, partners and former employees. This attack could be purposeful or due to carelessness and ignorance. Small businesses are at increased risk for insider threat cyberattacks. Having fewer employees means access and responsibility are concentrated into just a few positions. Duties that are separated at larger companies are often performed by a single person at a small company. This gives team members increased opportunities to commit and conceal fraud. DIGIGUARD cybersecurity experts can help you monitor for and identify insider threats. Our team will shut down the risk and help you recover.

Monitoring for Insider Threat

It’s critical to monitor and audit all endpoints to quickly detect breaches. DIGIGUARD will help you determine the necessary internal controls and policies to put in place. We know small businesses have limited IT security expertise. We are cybersecurity experts and can recommend the correct monitoring and auditing software. Protection from inside cyber threats includes actions from negligent employees as well as those with malicious intent. Our experts can help you establish and execute important protective measures. We will examine:

• Which employees have access to data
• Which employees have administrative permissions to systems
• Which employees have possession of company-owned devices
• Which vendors, consultants and partners have access to your systems
• Employee termination and offboarding data protection policies
• Spotting data anomalies

Halting Insider Threats

Small businesses manage valuable data and system connections to larger organizations. Cybercriminals may attempt to breach your system to access these other systems. The impact of this form of fraud can cause:

• Loss of customers
• Loss of vendor status approval
• Loss of brand confidence
• Loss of future business
• Loss of intellectual property
• Loss of business relationships

Keeping compromised data from leaving your company is the first order of business once a breach is detected. DIGIGUARD’s team of experts can rapidly react to determine exactly what is happening and quickly close the security gap. Acting quickly will minimize further loss.

Recovering from Insider Threat Cyber-Attacks

Small businesses that lack a background in cyber risk management will be overwhelmed by a breach. Getting your business back up and running is the highest priority. The DIGIGUARD team can provide a variety of IT services to restore safe functionality and data to your IT systems. We can also assist with forensic data gathering for compliance reporting or prosecution. Our team of consultants can be engaged to plan complete access denial services before employee offboarding occurs. We can offer review opinions on cloud insurance policy coverage. Recovery can also include reviewing established cyber-attack response protocols and policies. Here are some additional insider threat risks to consider:

• Equipment theft
• Bribes and kickbacks for steering purchases to vendors
• Selling proprietary company information

Policy Development and Training

Insider threat cyberattacks are not always maliciously planned theft and sabotage attacks. Insider threat attacks are also the result of carelessness and ignorance. Proper training will provide you and your team with the tools to recognize suspicious cybercrime attempts. DIGIGUARD consultants will train you and your teams on:

• Safe email and internet policy
• Data security protocol, both in-office and remote
• Acceptable use and device policy
• Social media policy
• New cybersecurity threats
• Avoiding victimization
• Warning signs of suspicious behavior
• Enforcing mandatory vacations
• Rewarding whistleblowers
• Limiting the scope of access to high-value data

We will design the training for you or conduct workshops on your behalf. To mitigate insider threats, your small business needs regular comprehensive training.

Insider Threat Plan

Without an insider threat game plan, small businesses leave a gap in their cybersecurity strategy. The average time it takes for a corporation to detect a data breach is nearly 6 months. An incomplete internal threat strategy puts your critical business data at risk. No solution is perfect in preventing cyber-attacks, but small businesses can go a long way in mitigating them. DIGIGUARD is ready to partner with you on specific cybersecurity projects or provide complete coverage for your entire IT security and cybersecurity needs.