Verizon Report Explores the World of Insider Threats

Verizon takes its Data Breach Investigations Report and refocuses on Insider Threat reports.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Mar 06, 2019

According to the Verizon 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, 20 percent of cybersecurity incidents and 15 percent of the data breaches investigated in the report originated from people within the organization, with financial gain and pure fun being the top motivators. 

These attacks, which exploit internal data and system access privileges, are often only found months or years after they take place, making their potential impact on business significant.

However, many organizations often treat their insider threats as a taboo subject. Companies are too often hesitant to recognize, report or take action against employees who have become a threat to their organization. It's as though the insider threat is a black mark on their management processes, and their name.

The Verizon Insider Threat now aims to change this perception by offering organizations a data-driven view on how to identify pockets of risk within the employee base, real-life case scenarios, and countermeasure strategies to consider when developing a comprehensive Insider Threat Program.

“For far too long data breaches and cybersecurity incidents caused by insiders have been pushed aside and not taken seriously. Often they are treated as an embarrassment or just an issue for Human Resource departments,” commented Bryan Sartin, executive director security professional services, Verizon. “This has to change. Cyber threats do not just originate from external sources, and to fight cybercrime in its entirety we also need to focus on the threats that lie within an organization’s walls.”