Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Insider incidents, whether intentional or unintentional, can harm your organization in the form of financial and reputational losses, compliance violations and fines, and operational disruptions. What can you do to avoid this? How can you protect yourself against insider threats? The solution is simple: fortify your organization’s security processes with a carefully executed insider threat strategy.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is often considered the strictest regulation in the world for securing users’ personal data, with fines for non-compliance reaching more than €20 million. The GDPR applies to all organizations processing the personal data of European Union (EU) residents. Do you find it daunting to read through the complex articles of this regulation?

The third quarter of 2022 was challenging for government and corporate servers across the globe — we witnessed a 70% increase in data breaches over the second quarter’s numbers. Considering that security lapses are mainly on the shoulders of CISOs, it’s vital to know the instruments for improving their effectiveness. This blog post outlines a white paper written by former Gartner analyst Jonathan Care.

Your organization most likely has privileged users — employees, subcontractors, and even customers who are authorized to access critical applications and sensitive data. But those elevated access rights make an organization vulnerable. If a privileged user makes a mistake or an attacker gets access to a privileged account, your most valuable data is at risk.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work forever. Although some part of the workforce returned to the office as soon as restrictions loosened, many employees wish to continue working remotely. According to data from Gartner, 60% of knowledge workers are remote, with at least 18% not planning to return to the office anytime soon. A hybrid office is a great option for both types of workers.

New hires bring fresh ideas and unique skills but can also pose a threat. They can endanger your organization’s sensitive data and IT systems due to carelessness, lack of cybersecurity awareness, or malicious intent. The potential insider threats stemming from new employees are especially concerning for large organizations with a high flow of personnel who may find it challenging to thoroughly monitor and supervise all new hires security-wise.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to temporarily transition to remote work environments. Two years have passed, but the remote work trend is still with us, with over 75% of people worldwide working remotely at least once a week. As telecommuting concerns more cybersecurity experts around the world, some security officers still make drastic mistakes in configuring and managing remote environments.

Each year, cyber attacks and data breaches are becoming more devastating for organizations. According to the 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report by IBM, the global average cost of a data breach reached a record US$4.35 million in 2022. However, security teams are often not ready to detect all security gaps in their organizations. The scope of their monitoring is usually so broad that it’s challenging to anticipate where a potential threat might come from.

Multiple reports show that people don’t take the necessity to pick secure passwords for their login credentials and personal devices seriously enough. According to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report, 80% of incidents resulting from hacking attacks involved weak and compromised passwords. These findings make us wonder whether confirming a user’s identity just once at login is enough. Should this be a repeated procedure?

Personal data remains attractive for malicious actors and cybercriminals. As they evolve their methods for stealing and compromising such data, implementing sufficient data protection measures is especially vital for any organization. In some industries, protecting personal data is a must to comply with privacy laws and regulations. But even if your organization is not subject to a particular data privacy requirement, it’s highly recommended to secure the data of your customers and employees.