Tackling Insider Attacks

It’s hard to accept, but the facts don’t lie: organizations must face the reality that “the call may be coming from inside the house.” In other words, you have a bad actor on your team. 

Whether it’s malicious intent or simply human error, someone may be derailing your business security from the inside. 

What Is an Insider Threat?

An insider threat is a security risk posed by individuals within an organization who have access to its data, systems, or premises. These threats can originate from current or former employees, contractors, business partners, or anyone granted access to the organization’s infrastructure. 

They can be malicious, with the intent to cause harm, or unintentional, stemming from negligence or mishandling (such as falling victim to phishing attacks).

PAM vs. Your Insider Threats

Insider breaches can lead to severe financial losses and damage an organization’s reputation. Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions, like those offered here at senhasegura, are essential in reducing these threats. 

A key concept in PAM is the Principle of the Least privilege (PoLP), which limits access rights to only what is necessary for users to perform their duties, reducing the risk of misuse or exploitation. By controlling and monitoring privileged access, senhasegura’s PAM solution minimizes the attack surface and ensures that potentially dangerous actions are detected and addressed.

senhasegura’s PAM solution provides continuous insider threat detection by monitoring and auditing all activities performed through privileged accounts. Its capabilities include detecting and addressing potentially harmful actions before they escalate, reducing the attack surface.

This allows organizations to identify insider threat indicators such as:

• Unusual Access Patterns: Attempts to access systems outside of normal working hours or from unexpected locations.
• Data Transfers: Unauthorized or unusually large transfers, uploads, or downloads of data.
• Behavioral Deviations: Actions that significantly deviate from a user’s established behavior patterns.

The Power of Session Management

PAM solutions also offer session management capabilities, including monitoring and recording user activities during privileged sessions. If a user is detected possibly engaging in malicious or unauthorized actions, the PAM system will detect and flag these activities for immediate review. 

This level of monitoring ensures that even subtly suspicious behaviors are recorded and available for analysis.

The case of Edward Snowden is an infamous insider threat example. Snowden, an NSA contractor, used his authorized access to leak sensitive data. Although he had legitimate access, his actions in exfiltrating and disseminating data were unusual and could have been flagged by proper PAM monitoring.

Excessive or unchecked privileged access can be easily exploited by bad actors, resulting in data breaches and unauthorized actions. Misuse and exposure of sensitive data can lead to catastrophic outcomes, especially if an attacker gains access through compromised credentials.

To combat these risks, PAM solutions employ all sorts of measures, including the rotation of credentials and restriction of access, ensuring that even if a credential is compromised, it is of limited value to attackers.

People First: Insider Threat Training

While technical solutions are essential, providing insider threat training to your team is equally important. Organizations must educate employees on security best practices and establish a culture of vigilance. 

Human errors, whether due to carelessness or lack of awareness, can (and will) be exploited by attackers. Combining advanced PAM technology with regular training is vital for effective insider threat prevention.

Trust No One

Organizations should adopt a Zero Trust approach, which assumes that no one – regardless of rank or role – can be trusted by default. This framework recognizes that even well-meaning employees can make mistakes that lead to security incidents. 

This matters even more for upper management, whose accounts are highly targeted because of their elevated privileges. Effective insider threat management involves not only reactive measures but also proactive steps, such as analyzing user behavior, evaluating risk, and assessing access controls. 

These actions anticipate and prevent potential threats before they escalate.

Remote Work and Hybrid Environments

The ship has sailed. Days of closed systems and dedicated internal servers are gone. The rise of remote and hybrid work has created new challenges for insider threats in cyber security. 

Without traditional physical boundaries, it’s harder to monitor user activities—further compounded by high turnover and increased third-party access. PAM solutions offer centralized control and monitoring, ensuring secure management of both internal and external users – no matter where they work.

Broad Capabilities for Insider Threat Prevention

senhasegura offers a centralized platform to manage privileged accounts, enforce the principle of least privilege, monitor user activities, and provide insider threat detection through real-time alerts and session recordings. 

These solutions include credential rotation, detailed auditing, and management of third-party access, all of which are critical in managing risks and mitigating insider threats. 

By ensuring visibility, security, and compliance, senhasegura strengthens organizations against insider threats, reducing their impact and enhancing overall security posture.