About Us | Contact Us
View Cart

A Seven Step Process to Combat Insider Threats

By Dan Hadaway | Monday, September 30, 2019 - Leave a Comment

Incident response testing is the stone that kills many birds…


Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . .


ServIcons_ITAudit_01

Good morning.  It’s 5:00am on a weekend, and I’m preparing my talk for the Cybersecurity Conference this week. While the talk is only supposed to be about trends and not solutions, I just have to bullet point out what I would do if I was an ISO of a bank who had just watched my talk.  So here’s another “Seven List from Dan.”

Seven Step Process to Combat Insider Threats

  1. Security Culture:  Is the board on board?  Does your culture already encourage “self-reporting” (no awkwardness surrounding the statement), “I think I just clicked on a link.”  With this kind of culture, users are more apt to respond when there is a threat to the culture, such as an insider threat.
  2. Conduct a threat analysis to determine where the insider threat falls in comparison to other threats.  While likelihood is perceived to be low (and is probably ranked lower than reality), the result is usually surprising due to elevated impact. Try redoing this threat analysis with the prerequisite statement of “during a merger” or “during a large layoff.”
  3. Make sure physical and fraud are on the Incident Response Team.
  4. Develop an Insider Threat Response Scenario as a part of your overall incident response plan.  Make sure that any changes in response structure, due to legal risks and other issues surrounding arresting a co-worker, are already built into the incident response processes.  (And tested).
  5. Be sure to learn how your SIEM looks for insider threats.  Facilitate that.
  6. Elevate to your SOC/MSSP when “conditions” increase the likelihood of the insider threat (mergers, layoffs, malicious terminations, etc).
  7. Test your Insider Threat Incident Response Scenario.  Address action items in the post-mortem review.  Add the continuous improvement of this process, commensurate to the risk identified in your threat analysis, to your overall IT Governance Program cycle. If you only get to one of these seven steps, it should be this one!

I’m sure there’s a lot of other things we can do when it comes to insider threats, but this should hopefully get the conversation started in your next steering committee meeting!

 


Original article by Dan Hadaway CRISC CISA CISM. Founder and Managing Partner, infotex

“Dan’s New Leaf” is a “fun blog to inspire thought in the area of IT Governance.”


same_strip_012513


 

Latest News
    R7: 2023’s Top Seven Technology Risks Webinar-Video What are the top seven risks your board should know about in 2023? Since 2006, Dan has been compiling a list of the “top seven risks small institutions are facing,” in preparation for his board presentations. This webinar will present the 2023 list in a manner that you […]
    PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BUSINESS NEWS NEW EMPLOYEE FOR INFOTEX We are excited to announce the addition of William Summers to our team as our new Data Security Analyst. William brings a wealth of knowledge to our organization, and we are confident that he will be an invaluable asset in helping us reach […]
    Yes, the CISO of the Starship Enterprise On AI replacing the business of cybersecurity. Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . From time to time, my friends from high school, and even some from college, who have a minimal understanding of the cybersecurity […]
    Artificial intelligence carries risk, but so does organic ignorance … Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . At a recent conference, I noticed two camps emerging in the debate over artificial intelligence. Some people embrace AI as a tool, while others support Elon […]
    PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BUSINESS NEWS NEW EMPLOYEE FOR INFOTEX We are pleased to announce the appointment of Nathan Taylor as our new Network Administrator at infotex.  “We are very excited to have Nathan join our team as a Network Administrator and look forward to his contributions to maintaining and improving our infrastructure!” […]
    about artificial intelligence . . . And who will protect us from it . . .  Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . Just watched some press on the the Senate hearings over regulating AI. The normal senator faces, Sam Altman of OpenAI, […]
    The Evolution of an Inside Term Used in our Vendor Risk Report Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . Those who audit infotex know that our vendor risk report refers to a couple of our providers as “ransomware companies.” This reference started evolving […]
    Another awareness poster for YOUR customers (and users). Now that we have our own employees aware, maybe it’s time to start posting content for our customers! Check out posters.infotex.com for the whole collection! Download the large versions here: Awareness Poster (Portrait) Awareness Poster (Landscape) You are welcome to print out and distribute this around your […]
    New tools could allow unskilled attackers to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks… An article review. Imagine a world where you receive a call from your boss asking you to assist them with something… only it’s not your boss, but an AI being used by an attacker.  This isn’t science fiction, it’s an actual attack that has […]
    Unavailability Strikes Where it doesn’t matter anyway Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . So, I’m writing today’s article from a resort in the middle of Wisconsin.  I want to make sure I’m staying on top of my New Leaf, which is to […]