Identifying the Insider Threat Warning Signs

How to spot insider threat warning signs and how to respond to them

Insider threats are one of the greatest risks to security that organizations face.  Cybersecurity Insiders found in their 2024 Insider Threat Report that 83% of companies reported some kind of insider threat incident last year. This is a significant increase from 2023, when only 60% of companies reported an incident. This may be in part because of increasing awareness of insider threats leading to more incidents being reported rather than being overlooked. All personnel receiving security training can help your organization identify threats before they do too much damage to your company. One important piece of this is training them to spot the insider threat warning signs.

The Common Insider Threat Warning Signs

Insider threats often display red flags before they take adversarial action. While not everyone who displays these warning signs is a threat, keeping an eye out for them can help your employees spot a threat and report them.

Poor Performance or Negligence

One of the most common types of insider threat is an unwitting one. Someone who doesn’t follow security procedures or makes mistakes often, like bringing a phone into a SCIF, can pose a threat to your organization even if they have no intention of doing harm. It’s key to stay on top of small security violations and make sure they’re documented and dealt with appropriately. One mistake doesn’t have to result in a major disciplinary action, but it can mean having a conversation with the person so they can learn and do better in the future. Repeated security violations would require escalation, as that poses more of a risk to your company, or could be a sign of someone acting maliciously and trying to hide behind negligence.

A sudden decline in performance, emotional outbursts at work or a drastic shift in hours could be a sign of something more nefarious going on.  Working odd hours in particular may be an attempt to have access to information without anyone else around. Some of this could be due to life circumstances, so it’s important to talk to personnel when signs like this appear and see if there’s an innocent explanation for it.

Financial Indicators

Finances could be one of the biggest motivators for someone to turn on their company. This can manifest in a couple ways. An employee who’s facing extreme financial stress, like debt or a gambling addiction, may be easier for an adversary to turn by offering money.

An employee who is suddenly spending large amounts of money is also suspect. If they’ve recently come into money, it could be from a deal they’ve made to act as an insider at your company. If the employee holds a clearance, they would have had to report any infusion of funds over $10,000, such as inheritance or competition winnings, to their Facility Security Officer (FSO). An infusion of cash without a report would be a reason for suspicion.

Seeking Access Outside of Responsibilities

An insider threat may not have access to the sensitive information they’re seeking out for your adversary. Someone trying to gain access to areas or data outside of their job responsibilities should raise a red flag. There’s the chance that they are trying to be a go getter and take on extra responsibilities, but it does pose a risk.

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