Ensuring data protection and preventing misuse of resources, apps and sensitive data are aspects that businesses cannot afford to ignore. Noncompliance has serious consequences, which extend beyond fines, penalties and financial losses. The term ‘insider threats’ basically refers to cyberattacks, related to misuse and unauthorized use of data, apps and resources, by internal users. A considerable number of data breaches can be tracked to insiders, and in this post, we are sharing a few tips on how companies can do better in preventing insider threats.
- Invest in Identity & Access management tool. Simply called IAM, Identity & Access management refers to the process of establishing a system that simplifies access to data, by defining roles. IAM tools can help companies in determining what information is accessible to a user a given point of time, and that alone can prevent breaches considerably, because only people who need to have access will have the rights.
- Determining the nature of insider threats that may loom over an organization is also an important step in preventing such threats. For instance, some employees may have been accessing data they don’t need to. Finding the loopholes is necessary, so that security solutions can be deployed.
- The third step is to determine the systems, resources, apps and data that are most valuable to an organization in the first place, so that the systems can be updated to enhance security. Depending on the Identity & Access management suite selected, businesses will be able to pay attention to selected modules in need of that extra consideration.
- Defining privileged access management is also critical for an organization. Privileged access users are often one of the core concerns for insider threats, and it is necessary to evaluate how their access to information can be monitored, reviewed and modified as required. An Identity & Access management suite will typically provide for that.
- Finally, businesses need to train, educate and inform employees and workers. Users need to know the dos and don’ts with regards to access rights, and they must be made aware of the consequences, in case a breach has been detected.
Organizations are having a hard time managing insider threats, more so because they don’t have the system to tackle and manage users. Also, it is necessary to have a system that can automate certain responses. For instance, if a breach is detected, certain user accounts should be blocked immediately.
