Insider Threat Problems and Solutions in the Organizational IT Systems (Essay Sample)

Insider Threat Problems and Solutions in the Organizational IT Systems
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Introduction
Anyone who is close to an organization like an employee, a contractor, a business partner, a board member, or any other business partner can perpetrate an insider threat either intentionally or unintentionally as long as they have access to the company’s data and computer systems (Safa et al., 2019). The fact that insiders have easy and legitimate access to the company’s data makes them extremely dangerous if they decide to harm the organization since they are familiar with security measures, unlike outsiders who try to hack into an organization’s critical data or systems. This paper provides an insider of the threat problems in IT organizations and recommends the possible solutions.
Problems
As stated above, insider threats can be intentional or unintentional. That means there are various types of insider threats which include negligent insider, malicious insider, collusive insider, and a third party insider.
* Negligent insider: The most common type of unintentional insider threat is caused by negligence. A negligent employee can fail to adhere to the company’s business rules and regulations, or just make an isolated error through poor judgment (Harilal et al, 2017). For example, they can share their login information with other people or click on phishing links in emails, accidentally share a client’s data with external parties, or leave a device exposed.
* Malicious insider: A malicious insider does data extrusion or other similar acts that can harm the organization for personal gain. Malicious insider threat can be an employee who has a problem with the employer or holding a grudge against him/her and decides to harm the business for that reason (Harilal et al, 2017). Or it can be an employee who is an opportunist, hence sharing the company’s critical data with a competitor for financial gain.
* Collusive insider: Collusive insiders usually collaborate with external players to harm the company (Harilal et al, 2017). Cases of cybercriminals recruiting employees as allies through the dark web have been on the rise lately, meaning it is becoming a common trend.
* Third party insider: Vendors or contractors whom the company has given access to its computer systems can also put a company at risk (Harilal et al, 2017). Third party insider can have an employee who can be collusive, malicious, or negligent which qualifies it as an insider threat.
Solutions
Many businesses have collapsed as a result of insider threats, which is why a company should always take precautions to prevent such from happening. There are various ways an organization can prevent insider threats from bringing it to its knees (Liu et al, 2018). A company should limit employee’s access to only necessary resources needed to carry out their assigned duties. Before the company can allow employees (whether new or old) and contractors to access its network, it should offer training on security awareness and regularly do follow ups to ensure that everyone is adhering to the rules and regulations.
Third party players like contractors and freelancers can be a liability, but since their services are needed, the company can set up temporary accounts for them. Those temporary accounts should have an expiration date that is aligned with the day their contracts end, that way the company does not take any chances (Liu et al, 2018). The company should ensure that it enhances security by employing a two-factor authentication approach. Which means, in addition to th