Insider threats are becoming more and more prevalent, and according to the PwC – US State of Cybercrime Survey they now account for 44% of data breaches. Some are due to malicious intent while others are simply a case of negligence, but the fact remains that the damage insider threats can cause is very real.
The good news is that technology has the tools to let you combat these threats and protect sensitive data. In particular, there are 5 stealth breakthrough technologies that you should be using to combat insider threats in 2019:
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Activity Monitoring
Activity monitoring using software such as WorkExaminer plays a big role as part of the foundation that is used to combat insider threats. Its features will let you track current activity, log past activity including internet use, email, file transfers, instant messaging, and more.
The data that WorkExaminer is able to track includes applications that are being run, keystrokes, screenshots, and data that is being copied to external devices or transferred online. All that information will then be delivered in the form of scheduled reports to allow you to act on it.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
The goal of DLP is to keep data safe by limiting access to it and monitoring users who do have access to it. For the latter WorkExaminer can provide the means for you to track any users that may be accessing data in a suspicious manner and find out what they are doing with it.
With stronger DLP measures, the risk of insider threats can be significantly reduced and the potential exposure can be mitigated.
Machine Learning
One relatively new development is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that uses machine learning to analyze data and track patterns. It can be used to pinpoint malicious activity or to identify potential security vulnerabilities.
The data from WorkExaminer’s monitoring is essential to the analysis as it can provide a complete picture of the activity of users. The more data the AI can analyze, the more accurately it will be able to recognize patterns.
User Behavior Analysis
Often insider threats can be successfully identified by anomalous behavior patterns. If WorkExaminer is used to track the activity of users its data can be used as a baseline and any anomalous activity can be flagged based on that. That will allow you to address the threat directly, and before it becomes a bigger issue.
One advantage of WorkExaminer’s monitoring is its ability to record data for forensic purposes, either in the form of screenshots or keystrokes.
Privileged Access Management
User privileges and their access to data and administrative functions must be limited, which is what Privileged Access Management (PAM) software can do. It will provide the means for you to ensure to customize the privileges of different users based on the level of access they require.
Alongside monitoring, PAM systems are essential to limit the risk of insider threats as they can ensure that unauthorized users cannot access sensitive data.
Leveraging these technologies is the key to effectively combatting insider threats. As you can see it will require a multi-pronged approach, but at its core, you will need to be able to monitor users stringently using WorkExaminer.
Ultimately the goal of your data protection should be to minimize the threat of data breaches being caused by insiders intentionally or unintentionally, and ensure that forensics can identify the issue should a breach occur. If you can successfully do that you won’t have to worry so much about the potential damage and exposure that insiders with access can cause.
