When it Comes to Cyber Attacks, External Threats Get Most of the Headlines and Attention. But the Greatest Threats Are Often Overlooked: Insider Risks
When a cyber-attack is mentioned, often the first thing people think about is someone in another country trying to break through a firewall in the middle of the night. While these types of external attacks do happen, they are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to types of attacks.
While it is common for bad actors to try and break in from outside a company’s network, this is not the only angle that your network’s data can be stolen. Unfortunately, it is also very common for employees within the company, or people acting as such, to take data for malicious purposes.
The Malicious Actors You've Already Met
“A company can be very aware of external threats and have the best security measures against them, yet, if they are unaware of internal threats, their data is still highly vulnerable.”
Whether it’s an upset employee intentionally leaking data or a screen that is left on for a janitor to snap a picture of, these types of internal attacks can cause just as much damage as an external one. In fact, internal attacks are often harder to detect, meaning companies are exposed longer, leading to more data being stolen.
When defending against cyber-attacks, or anything, it is extremely important to know every way that you might be attacked. Take for example fighting against sickness; if you know that sickness can spread through the air, yet you are unaware that it can also spread through the things that you touch, you would be very likely to get sick.
The cybersecurity world is the same way. A company can be very aware of external threats and have the best security measures against them, yet, if they are unaware of internal threats, their data is still highly vulnerable.
Taking Action to Mitigate This Risk
Staying up to date on your company’s network vulnerabilities is the first step and one of the strongest defenses you can use to stay secure. CyberZek’s Global Insider Threat Manager (GITM) informs companies of their network’s internal threats and vulnerabilities, keeping them ahead of attacks and safe from data loss.