Dive Brief:
- 90% of IT security managers surveyed believe malicious insiders are a major threat to their organizations' security, according to a new global research study.
- The study, conducted by email and data security company Mimecast, also found 45% of respondents feel they are poorly prepared to defend against malicious insiders.
- One in seven IT security decision makers view malicious insiders as their number one threat.
Dive Insight:
The survey included responses from 600 IT security managers in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia. Mimecast’s data indicates that malicious insiders are a growing source of risk and anxiety, yet most companies spend the majority of their time protecting against outside threats, often overlooking internal security.
"Every day, we trust employees with sensitive information and powerful tools, but we don’t give them the effective security education and advanced cloud security solutions that goes hand-in-hand with those responsibilities," said CEO Peter Bauer in the study. "As a community we must work together to enact better business processes."
Implementing employee awareness and education can help. Ensuring that cybersecurity efforts consider both internal and external threats is also important.
Malicious employees who use file-sharing or cloud storage services to steal valuable corporate data are also a concern, according to the study. Mimecast suggests IT managers re-evaluate unrestricted access to these services and ensure protections are put in place.
