As per the latest 2024 Insider Threat Report by Cybersecurity Insiders, 83% of firms reported at least one internal assault in the past year. What’s even more surprising than this fact is that businesses facing 11-20 internal attacks observed a surge of attacks by five times compared to 2023 — increasing from a mere 4% to 21% within the last 12 months.
To address the mounting internal threats, it is crucial for enterprises to acknowledge the real hazards stemming from within their digital infrastructure and implement robust strategies for thwarting them effectively.
Elevating concerns surrounding internal breaches
With businesses increasingly adopting hybrid cloud work models and cutting-edge technologies, the complexity of internal risk management has escalated. Cybersecurity Insiders conducted a study involving 413 IT and cybersecurity experts to gain deeper insight into how internal breaches impact their organizations.
Surprisingly, the instances of internal threat events have surged significantly year after year, with 48% of participants stating that they are grappling with a much more widespread issue in the past year alone. Upon exploring the reasons behind this surge, Cybersecurity Insiders pinpointed four primary factors responsible for this rise:
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Complex IT infrastructures: The endorsement of remote and hybrid work models, along with extensive cloud adoption by contemporary businesses, has led to the emergence of more intricate operational frameworks that are challenging to oversee and regulate.
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Substandard security measures: Many organizations struggle to keep abreast of the latest security standards and continue to rely on outdated protocols to safeguard their digital resources.
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Deficiency in employee training and awareness: Not all internal threats are malicious. In reality, a majority of employees lack sufficient training to stay vigilant about the risks they may introduce to the business, while also actively participating in averting internal threats.
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Feeble enforcement policies: Despite 93% of respondents in the study emphasizing the importance of stringent visibility and control, only 36% possessed an efficient solution for unified visibility and access management.
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Fathoming the actual expenses linked with internal threats
While many security teams comprehend the security ramifications of internal threats, the broad extent of their financial aftermath is not always fully acknowledged. Cybersecurity Insider’s report delved deeper into these aspects, yielding intriguing findings.
For 32% of organizations contending with internal threats in the last year, the average recovery cost ranged from $100,000 to $499,000. Although this figure predominated, 21% of respondents disclosed significantly higher costs, within the range of $1 million to $2 million.
These statistics solely mirror the tangible expenses associated with remediating internal threat incidents. They do not encompass additional losses businesses may incur while factoring in the harm caused to their reputations and the erosion of customer trust resulting from such attacks.
Optimal procedures for enhancing internal threat mitigation
Considering the adverse consequences that internal threats pose to organizations, it is imperative to enact effective practices for minimizing vulnerability. These practices include:
Advanced surveillance solutions
Internal threats are often more challenging to detect than external assaults. Hence, it is imperative to invest in advanced surveillance solutions like User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA). These tools utilize machine-learning algorithms and behavioral analytics to monitor user activities, identifying anomalies to provide early warnings of potential internal threat actions to security teams.
Non-IT data sources
Incorporating non-IT data sources into your threat management platforms enriches the intelligence of empowered security solutions. For instance, by integrating data such as legal information, HR records, and other publicly available data sources, you can attain a more comprehensive perspective on potential internal threats that may arise.
These data sources may encompass employee appraisals, disciplinary measures, or other publicly accessible information on social networks. This collective information aids in early detection and significantly diminishes risk ratios.
Automated threat discovery and response
With numerous organizations rapidly expanding their digital presence, manual threat identification and response have become highly ineffective. Automated response tools have evolved into indispensable assets to help organizations sift through large data streams, identify potential threats, and expedite response times.
In conjunction with on-premise security solutions, Threat Detection and Response (TDR) services can substantially enhance a company’s cybersecurity regimen. Access to the latest tools and adeptly trained teams offered by TDR services bolsters security defenses.
Zero trust frameworks
Rigorous access control is pivotal in curtailing the persistence of internal threats. Embracing a zero trust security model shrinks organizational exposure by assuming all users and devices, both within and beyond a corporate network, are potential threats. This ensures comprehensive vetting of each access attempt, restraining the capacity of malicious insiders to sustain unauthorized entry to sensitive systems and networks.
Employee training and awareness
An area of notable concern for the enterprises outlined in Cybersecurity Insiders’ recent report is employee training, with 32% of respondents conceding that a lack of awareness significantly contributed to an attack. Continuously educating staff about the perils of internal threats and instructing them on how to identify and report suspicious activities is crucial.
Fostering a security-conscious ethos
Establishing a conducive milieu for cybersecurity planning throughout the organization is paramount. For achieving this, company leadership should play an active role in prioritizing threat management across all divisions while setting a leading example. This ensures shared accountability among all individuals in averting internal and external threats.
Regular security examinations and assessments
To ascertain the efficacy of the solutions and methodologies being implemented, periodic security audits and assessments are indispensable. These thorough evaluations should encompass a broad spectrum ranging from security policies and access controls to the efficiency of any incident response plans currently operational.
Incident response strategizing
Organizations should constantly be primed for worst-case scenarios, maintaining a well-defined incident response blueprint. Given that a notable portion of enterprises in Cybersecurity Insiders’ previous report were uncertain about their recovery timelines, having clearly defined procedures for mitigating attacks has become more crucial than ever.
Outmaneuvering the internal threats
As internal threats escalate year after year, it is imperative for organizations to proactively take measures to forestall them. By adhering to the suggested best practices and fostering greater internal awareness concerning these persistent threats, businesses can ensconce a resilient cybersecurity stance.