Steps to improve insider threat detection for small business

While external threats usually make the headlines in the cybersecurity space, it is the insider threats that are increasingly becoming riskier and more harmful in terms of the damage they can do to business organizations, particularly to small & mid-sized businesses (SMBs). These risks can occur as a result of some common security lapses such as errors in your general settings, misconfigured or improperly set-up access systems, or at times accidental data leaks; so, if there’s an “internal threat” in your company it does not always necessarily mean that it can only happen because of malicious actions from the company’s staff members.

If you’re in a state of doubt and thinking about what ways your small or medium company can keep itself fully secure without breaking the bank – this blog will try to answer your question! We’ll shed light on the various cost-efficient ways to strengthen your security against insider threats, for instance, imagine that your company is successful in swiftly identifying & neutralizing insider threats but does so even without investing too much into IT resources, and by smartly using their limited budget.

Understanding Insider Threats: Types, and Why SMBs Are Vulnerable –

There are certain reasons why SMBs in particular are more vulnerable to insider threats. Contrary to the larger organizations, most SMBs may lack specialized IT teams for security operations. Besides they may also not have sufficient resources or the most advanced tools for security that they could use to identify the suspicious patterns within the organization and the different types of insider threats that may be looming.

There are several types of insider threats, some are more common than others, but the following are in no particular order or criteria –

Inside elements/ personnel that can reveal sensitive info by negligence.

Malicious actors that leak inside info to steal the sensitive data and other digital assets or disrupt the company’s operations.

Compromised insider elements who find their devices or user accounts taken over by a cyber-attacker through hacking.

Having an understanding and full grasp of the various types of insider threats that are prevalent, is the first step towards creating a potent plan for tackling insider threats because you are aware of how the threats can enter and what damage they can do. This is essentially the starting step for startup businesses and SMBs if they want to expand their business while keeping safe from insider threats.

Establishing a Baseline: Monitoring User Activity for Anomalies –

Detection of abnormal or suspicious behaviour is hard when you do not clearly understand what constitutes “normal” in the world of IT business -or for that matter any particular- department of your company. Monitoring employee activity as part of cybersecurity measures in a small-medium business would involve tracking patterns such as what is the usual login time, the number of times someone typically logs in, what files are accessed, data transfers, and usage of devices, etc.

By using user behaviour analytics for cybersecurity in SMBs, you need to identify red flags —like any unusual user access times or specific file downloads, including the size of the downloads— which can be helpful in identifying a potential threat.

Implementing Strict Access Controls & the Principle of Least Privilege –

Restricting who can have access to what digital resources of the company is one of the most effective methods to lower the risk of security breaches. Establishing access controls in your SMB to eliminate internal threats makes sure that your staff personnel only have access to the digital resources their job role actually demands, and not more than that.

Principle of Least Privilege –

Giving users the minimum possible access that is just about enough to fulfil their required task is the “principle of least privilege” and it drastically helps limit the damage your business may have to endure even in the case of an account being hacked.

Leveraging Technology: Cost-Effective Tools for Insider Threat Detection –

It is a myth that a big enterprise-level budget is always the first requirement to defend your business. In reality, there are several cost-effective & relatively affordable solutions or tools to prevent & tackle insider threats for SMBs. Such specialized tools include:

Tools for prevention of Data loss

Automated tools specially designed for SMBs to help them with insider threat detection

Cloud technology based behaviour monitoring tools to detect suspicious activity

Top-quality software application tools for the detection of insider threats for SMBs

All such tools are available and can facilitate the business in detecting suspicious activity at the earliest and help prevent data loss.

Cultivating a Security-Aware Culture: Employee Training & Reporting Mechanisms –

For your company’s cybersecurity, relying solely on technology is not enough. It is equally important that you foster a culture of security awareness in your business firm. So, you must organize security awareness programs for your company’s employees to ensure they are vigilant and trained enough to take the necessary precautionary measures when they have an encounter with a potential cyberthreat. It is even more critical especially if you run a Small-Medium sized Business. Cybersecurity awareness training can help your employees understand:

Phishing attempts via suspicious emails: Train your staff personnel on the effective ways to recognize if an email is dubious or malicious, and same about the malicious website links that such emails may often contain. Ensure that your employees are well-informed about the messages that are designed to seem legit but are actually intended to steal private sensitive user data.

Suspicious behaviour or conduct of a colleague: Encourage your staff members to report immediately to the company’s management if they notice any unusual activity at the workplace, such as a co-worker downloading some large files or working odd hours without any real explanation to back it up.

Noticing Unauthorised or prohibited access: Train the staff members to recognize and instantly report if they observe unauthorized access to certain prohibited files, data, devices, or any systems that are not commonly used at the workplace.

Make it easy to report such incidents for your staff employees by ensuring them it would be kept anonymous so they do not have to worry about any risks or backlash from colleagues as this will foster a cooperative and secure work culture in your company.

Regular Audits & Reviews: Keeping Policies and Systems Updated –

Periodic reviews and audits help minimize many risks. It helps you stay safe when you have robust cybersecurity policies in place.

Regular upgrades and audits also ensure that your threat detection procedures and technologies expand with your company’s growth.

In small IT organizations, the process of continuous monitoring for insider threat is essential to identify covert internal threats.

Secure Employee Offboarding Procedures: Mitigating Risks When Staff Leave –

When an employee is about to leave the company, it is crucial that you conduct a proper secure employee offboarding process for the security of your small businesses, this process includes:

Revoking the employee’s access to all the business devices and systems

Recovering the organization’s equipment or devices from the departing employee

Changing passwords that are shared with this employee

Monitoring or information on post-departure activity (in certain cases when applicable)

This ensures your business is protected from any kind of post-exit data breaches, intentional or non-intentional from the employee.

Developing an Incident Response Plan for Insider Threats

Developing an effective Incident Response (IR) Plan for insider threats is paramount for any organization, as these risks pose unique challenges that external cyberattacks typically don’t. Unlike external adversaries, insiders often have authorized access to critical systems and sensitive data, making their malicious or negligent actions harder to detect and mitigate through traditional security controls alone.

An insider threat IR plan isn’t just a subset of your general cyber incident response; it’s a specialized framework that accounts for the human element, the potential for trust abuse, and the need for delicate handling involving HR and legal departments.

Here’s how to approach developing such a critical plan:

The Unique Imperative for Insider Threat Incident Response

Insider threats, whether malicious (theft of data, sabotage) or negligent (accidental data exposure, misconfigurations), leverage internal access and knowledge. This means:

Elevated Trust: Insiders bypass perimeter defenses, operating within trusted networks.
Data Access: They often have legitimate access to the very data they might compromise.
Behavioral Nuances: Detecting them requires understanding subtle deviations from normal behavior, not just overt technical attacks.
Complex Response: Incidents involve not just technical remediation but also HR policies, legal implications, and often, law enforcement engagement.

Without a dedicated plan, organizations risk prolonged breaches, significant data loss, reputational damage, and severe legal repercussions.

Key Phases and Components of Your Insider Threat IR Plan

An effective insider threat IR plan typically mirrors the core phases of a general incident response framework (Preparation, Detection & Analysis, Containment, Eradication, Recovery, Post-Incident Activity) but with critical insider-specific considerations.

Preparation:
- Define Roles & Responsibilities: Establish a cross-functional Insider Threat Response Team (ITRT) with clear roles from IT Security, HR, Legal, Management, Physical Security, and Communications. Unlike typical IR, HR and Legal are critical from the outset.
- Identify Critical Assets: Map out your most sensitive data, systems, and intellectual property that are attractive targets for insiders.
- Develop Policies & Procedures: Create clear Acceptable Use Policies, data handling guidelines, and insider threat definitions. Ensure employees are aware of monitoring practices.
- Proactive Monitoring & Tools: Implement User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Identity and Access Management (IAM), and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to establish baselines of normal behavior and detect anomalies.
- Training & Awareness: Educate all employees on insider threat indicators, reporting mechanisms, and the importance of a security-first culture.
Detection & Analysis:
- Behavioral Anomaly Detection: Focus on unusual login times, accessing restricted files, excessive data downloads, attempts to bypass security, or unusual communication patterns.
- Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) & Indicators of Behavior (IOBs): Look for both technical signs of compromise and behavioral red flags (e.g., disgruntled employee behavior, unusual financial stress).
- Logging & Auditing: Ensure comprehensive logs are collected from all relevant systems (endpoints, networks, applications) for forensic analysis.
- Prioritization: Triage potential insider incidents based on severity, potential impact, and the nature of the detected activity.
Containment & Eradication:
- Rapid Isolation: Quickly limit the insider’s access to affected systems or data without tipping them off prematurely. This might involve revoking specific permissions, isolating network segments, or even suspending accounts.
- Evidence Preservation: Crucially, implement procedures to securely collect and preserve all relevant digital evidence (logs, emails, files) in a forensically sound manner. This is vital for potential legal or disciplinary action.
- Physical Security Measures: If applicable, coordinate with physical security to manage access to physical assets.
- Remove the Threat: Once contained, eradicate the threat by removing malicious software, securing compromised accounts, and taking appropriate HR/legal action against the individual.
Recovery:
- Restore Systems & Data: Bring affected systems back to normal operations and restore any compromised data from secure backups.
- Patch & Harden: Address any vulnerabilities exploited by the insider.
- Review Access Controls: Re-evaluate and tighten access permissions, especially for sensitive data.
Post-Incident Activity:
- Lessons Learned & Post-Mortem Analysis: Conduct a thorough review of the incident to understand root causes, identify gaps in the plan, and improve detection and response mechanisms.
- Documentation: Maintain detailed records of the incident, actions taken, evidence collected, and outcomes.
- Program Improvement: Use insights gained to update policies, enhance training, refine monitoring tools, and conduct regular tabletop exercises to test the plan’s effectiveness.

The Interdepartmental Collaboration is Key

For insider threats, the IT security team cannot operate in a silo. Close collaboration with Human Resources (HR) and Legal is non-negotiable. HR manages personnel relations, potential disciplinary actions, and employee well-being. Legal ensures compliance with privacy laws, labor laws, and guides evidence collection for potential prosecution. Establishing clear communication channels and defined roles for each department before an incident occurs is critical for a smooth, compliant, and effective response.

By proactively developing and continuously refining an incident response plan tailored for insider threats, your organization can significantly mitigate risks, minimize damage, and maintain trust in a complex security landscape.

Partnering with an MSP for Insider Threat Detection & Management –

If your company does not have a specialized in-house team with security expertise, it would be a wise move to consider partnering with a professional managed security service provider (MSSP) like Synergy IT Solutions. We offer managed security services to detect & tackle insider threats in small and medium businesses, and this includes:

Real-time continuous monitoring
Threat analytics
Instant Alerts and response
Managing User Access
Data protection solutions
24×7 Support for clients

We are accessible to clients across North America and have been providing managed cybersecurity solutions for over 2 decades, so you can count on us for the best cybersecurity and protection including insider threat detection.

Half the job is finding the right partner to suit your needs. Synergy IT Solutions understands the unique business needs of every client and plans the solutions accordingly. We give SMBs enterprise-level security —at a price that is reasonable based on your business’s requirements.

Concluding Remarks –

Keep insider threats at Bay! Ensure your SMB’s security from the Inside-out by partnering with a professional Manager security service provider.

You can stay clear of internal threats if you implement a combination of various smart technologies and unambiguous policies and foster a security-first culture in your organization. It is important to keep in mind that although insider threats may be silent but still can be noticed and found nonetheless with sufficient measures. Synergy IT Solutions can assist you if you are seeking data loss prevention solutions for your small business or if you simply need assistance in configuring user access controls and security monitoring tools. For small business security or protecting large enterprises, we can customize our solution accordingly. You can contact us anytime to learn more about insider threats and get a free quote and assessment for your business needs.

Contact :

Synergy IT solutions Group

US : 167 Madison Ave Ste 205 #415, New York, NY 10016

Canada : 439 University Avenue, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON M5G 1Y8

US : +1(917) 688-2018

Canada : +1(905) 502-5955

Email :

info@synergyit.com

sales@synergyit.com

info@synergyit.ca

sales@synergyit.ca

Website : https://www.synergyit.ca/ , https://www.synergyit.com/

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