We focus on external hackers, but a significant share of incidents come from within — from employees, partners, or contractors with legitimate access.
The insider threat isn't always malicious. Often it's plain carelessness: the wrong recipient, a lost laptop, a clicked link.
Malicious and accidental
The malicious insider steals data knowingly. The careless one exposes it unintentionally. Both cases call for the same measures: least privilege and monitoring.
1 in 3breaches involves an insider factor — an employee, partner, or compromised account.
How to reduce the risk
- The principle of least privilege
- Monitoring access to sensitive data
- Immediately revoking access when someone leaves
- Training against carelessness and phishing
- Zero Trust — for internal users too
How to protect yourself
Balance matters: excessive monitoring erodes trust. The goal is reasonable control over critical data, combined with a culture of security — not total surveillance.
Want an insider threat risk assessment? Get in touch with us.