Back in February 2016, thieves stole US$81m from the Bangladesh Bank with the possible involvement of an insider. No one broke in, no one wore masks or walked into a bricks and mortar building carrying weapons.
A recent survey conducted by Gartner of 186 participants released in May 2016 exposed that the main motivation of trusted employees and contractors (insiders) leaking privileged information is financial.
This week has seen yet another high profile business based in the UK breached, possibly by an insider threat. This time, it’s a trusted business-to-business software provider Sage Group PLC, which provides business management software for accounting and payroll services to companies in 23 countries.
There’s no doubt that awareness of information security in corporations has dramatically improved in recent years. Stories of breaches, both internal and external, have filled the media. Where the CEO has been forced to face the music on the evening news, where most people now understand the value of data and the risk of it falling into the wrong hands.
Insider threats are very real. Hackers are perceived as being faceless guys that wear hoods. The insider is your colleague, your friend a member of your team. Working with third party companies and contractors is a fact of life.
