Over at Computer Economics, we've published a new special report entitled, Malicious Insider Threats: Countering Loss of Confidential Information, Fraud, Sabotage, & Other IT Security Threats Posed by Trusted Insiders.
Most organizations are aware of the IT security threats posed by outsiders. Countermeasures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems are all aimed at these threats. Yet these measures do little to counter an even greater threat--that of malicious insiders within the organization.
As our study shows, however, many organizations do not treat these threats seriously. Such threats include fraud, sabotage, and theft or loss of confidential information caused by trusted insiders. These threats go beyond negligence. They represent purposeful action on the part of insiders to act in opposition to the interests of the organization, whether for financial gain, retribution, or some other motivation.
This report, based on a survey of 100 IT executives and security professionals that we ran last year, covers four categories of malicious insider threats: accessing confidential information without authorization, disclosing confidential information, executing fraudulent transactions, and sabotage of the organization’s systems, network, or data. For each category we report how seriously organizations perceive these threats and how frequently these threats actually result in violations of security. We then examine the extent to which organizations implement four best practices for controlling user access and 12 best practices for mitigating threats from IT personnel. Finally, we analyze the extent to which organizations take action to counter malicious insider activity by monitoring of insider email, keystrokes, computer files, and Internet traffic.
Read an excerpt of the full report, in this free research byte: Malicious Insider Threats Greater than Most IT Executives Think.
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