The insider threat?has seen numerous secrets make their way into the hands of competitors. Some staff personally use the data?or want to cause the business itself mayhem, while others?dig?up dirt with the goal of showing it to the public. After learning he would eminently be fired, EnerVest?s?engineer?reset the company?s network servers, deleting phone accounts and backup data which couldn?t all be salvaged. The same goes for a former Gucci employee, who, according to Computer World, ?left the?business nursing an estimated $200,000 cleanup bill?.Whoever was in charge of Fidelity National Services? data access rights decided to take information from 2.3m customers, making a hefty sum selling it to a broker. There was the lawsuit filed by Alphabet against a former employee for copying 14,000 internal files, and Edward Snowden is now famous for releasing sensitive NSA documents. That such cases aren?t as rare we?d like to think was made evident by Egress Software Technologies? 2,000-employee strong research. It claimed a significant number of staff purposefully shared confidential information?with competitors?or previous?and new employers. This was mostly done via email, with half of respondents deleting the evidence immediately. We tend to forget one factor when discussing the insider threat though; that it’s in a human’s nature to err. Tony Glass, GM and VP EMEA of Skillsoft, explained that most mistakes come from staff ?clicking on a URL in an email that leads to a phishing attack. The key is education. “Staff actions can lead to catastrophic outcomes. By giving them the skills and knowledge needed to protect the organisation against?the insider threat, businesses can relax?in the knowledge that good cyber practice is being adhered to.? Indeed, Egress found that 37 per cent of staff didn?t always check emails before sending them, leading to corporate data going into the unknown. Some 68 per cent claimed it was due to the rush of the day, while 42 per cent blamed auto-fill technology. Tony Pepper, CEO and co-founder, Egress, maintained email misuse and lack of double-checking for whatever reason, was common within British business. Most staff never fessed up due to embarrassment or being purely oblivious that it had happened in the first place. ?While?it may cause red faces, leaking confidential information can amount to a data breach and could be taken advantage of by the email recipient,” Pepper said. “As we move towards the GDPR, it has never been more important to get a grip on risk points within the organisation and, as this research shows, email needs serious attention.” As Glass exclaimed, education is a large part of the solution, as is enforcing a standard of looking though emails before sending them off.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.