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Insider Threats Response
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Reply to Shawn Bookwalter
Hi Shawn, insider threat attacks are becoming more common, and companies are
taking the necessary steps to prevent and deal with insider threat attacks. Insider threats are a
quarter of all the causes of cyber attacks showing how insider threats can cause a company so
much damage. I am afraid I disagree with you that an intentional insider threat is far more
damaging. An intentional insider threat can be easily identified, and they will be prosecuted
according to law. Intentional insiders may access sensitive and more data about the company
that hackers and competitors are looking for. An intentional insider threat can be easily
detected, but a hacker may gain access to the network undetected for an unintentional insider
threat (Hadlington, 2021). The hacker may access a user’s login credentials and use them to
access the network (Hadlington, 2021). The hacker may have access to a wide range of
information getting all the information they want undetected for as long as possible.
Red teams are used to identify weaknesses and find how hackers can use the flaws to
gain access to the company’s network. I believe it would be effective if the red teams identify
the weaknesses themselves instead of the company handing them the weaknesses. This is
because they can identify all the weaknesses without bias, and they provide an extra eye to
finding all the shortcomings of the network (Landoll, 2021). “But the one who does not know
and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who
has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with
much, much more will be asked” (New International Version, 2011, Luke 12:48). This bible
verse shows that employees should be responsible for ensuring that they do not make a
mistake that may help a hacker gain access to the network. It shows that the more access an
employee is given, the more they are expected to take cautionary steps to ensure that the
company’s network is safe.
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References
Hadlington, L. (2021). The “human factor” in cybersecurity: Exploring the accidental insider.
In Research anthology on artificial intelligence applications in security (pp. 1960-
1977). IGI Global.
Landoll, D. (2021). The security risk assessment handbook: A complete guide for performing
security risk assessments. CRC Press.
New International Version. (2011). Bible Gateway.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012%3A48&version=NIV
