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Dealing With Insider Threats In Remote Working Era

2021/03/28 IT & Cyber-Security Solutions 987 visit(s)

By:Ctelecoms

Ctelecoms

With insider threats on the rise, attempted or successful threat or corruption of data are on the rise too. The costs of these attacks can be significant; therefore, Saudi businesses and organizations need to have proactive security measures in place besides helping promote cybersecurity awareness among their employees.

What are the most common insider threats?

Insider threats cover a broad category of cybersecurity incidents. The most common includes malicious sharing of information, such as downloading sensitive financial information or intellectual property and sharing with unauthorized parties; however, insider threats can also include an employee or contractor who accidentally misuses their access to affect the organization negatively.

Now in a pandemic world where millions of employees migrated to remote work, the question naturally becomes: How do you identify and mitigate insider threats when employees are working outside the traditional security protections of the corporate network? On top of that, employees are facing increased threats that may force them unintentionally to become insider threat actors, such as phishing attacks.

The first step is to gain visibility into the new attack surface created by remote work, such as new personal devices that employees may now be using to access sensitive corporate assets. IT administrators should monitor how users interact with information to detect initial attack vectors and reinforce that with a business continuity plan. On top of that, network security teams can analyze packet data to determine a new baseline for performance and enable the spotting of anomalies.

While technology can go a long way toward supporting and securing remote work, insider threats ultimately come down to the people themselves. Security awareness training can help ensure employees can spot incoming threats and understand how to implement security best practices. These pieces of training can be tailored to what scenarios employees may encounter in a remote working world.

While the pandemic will certainly not last forever, the future of remote work is here to stay in some form. Many employees have proven their viability to work from home, opening the door to a more flexible work schedule and location. According to Gartner’s research firm, eighty percent of company leaders plan to let employees work remotely at least part-time after the pandemic is over.

For business leaders, that means the cybersecurity considerations around remote work and insider threats are also here to stay. Having a long-term plan in place to mitigate these threats will help ensure a secure future of work.

If you need any help securing your employees, devices, mailboxes, sensitive corporate data and all other aspects of your bigger cyber-security picture, Ctelecoms team can help you out! Get in touch with us to discuss and tailor the ideal security solution that best fits your unique needs and budget.