The Enemy Within: Insiders are still the weakest link in your data security chain
workstation when they
leave their desk or keeping
their passwords secret.
5 ways to foster a data
security environment
··
Educate employees to be
your first line of defence
··
Conduct random security
tests to keep employees
on their toes
··
Collaborate with
associates and form a
cybersecurity alliance
Employees can be viewed
as potential points
of failure or potential
security checkpoints. With
proper training and clear
communication of data
use policy, employees
can become the first
line of defense against
cybercrime
2 . C O NDU C T
R A ND O M SEC UR I T Y
T E S T S T O K EEP
EMP L OY EE S O N
T HEIR T O E S
According to Forrester
(2014), 42% of external
·· Build a security fortress
attacks involved some
and protect it with a
type of user interaction
persistent watchdog
(watering hole attack,
·· Form an actionable crisis
phishing, malicious link,
plan
or email attachment).
The best way to ensure
that employee training
is effective is to conduct frequent security tests (Lindros and
Tittel 2014). Gamify security audits by keeping a leaderboard to
maintain employee engagement. Examples of such tests include:
··
··
··
Spot quizzes: Administer random quizzes several times
per year and vary the questions so employees don’t
become familiar with a pattern or share their responses.
Scores should be public to foster a competitive environment.
Employees who perform poorly should receive further
training and receive more frequent testing until they achieve
a higher standard.
Workspace checks: Employees can become complacent
with information that they handle routinely. Check employee
desks for documents or notes that contain confidential
information. Check that devices in the area are locked
if left unattended and check the area around devices for
password reminders or encryption keys on post-it notes, etc.
Honey traps: Leave USB keys lying around public areas or
post USB keys from false “marketers”to random employees.
Place some code on the keys that will alert you when it is
plugged in and allow you to identify the employee
··
Social experiments: Hire a temporary employee or an actor
to pose as a new staff member. Ask them to call on random
employees, requesting confidential information such as
login credentials or information in a non-public document.
The employee/actor should have a credible story prepared
about why he or she needs the information.
··
Simulated email attacks: Phishing emails are disguised
to come from a legitimate source but they contain links to
malicious websites or attachments. These emails often fool
typical users. Teach employees how to identify a suspicious
URL before they click on it. Send phishing emails to random
inboxes and monitor who clicks on them. The links can
redirect to a webpage that informs the employee about the
security test.
This type of regular testing is important to keep data security
top-of-mind with employees. If these procedures are too onerous
for your team to manage, there are third party consultants that
can manage security testing on your behalf.
“42% of internal
security incidents were
due to inadvertent
misuse or an accident.”
3 . C O L L A B O R AT E W I T H A S S O CI AT E S A ND F O R M A
CY B ER SEC UR I T Y A L L I A N CE
Employees are not the only company stakeholders that cause
data security concerns. According to Forrester (2014), third
parties and contractors have widened the attack surface.
Cybercrime is becoming more advanced and criminals have
moved on from targeting individual organizations to targeting
entire networks of organizations. Trusted business partners
can access systems without setting off any alarms - recent
breaches at Home Depot and Dairy Queen were traced back to
compromises at third party suppliers (Vinton 2014).
By forming cybersecurity alliances with your business partners
and even with competitor companies, you can ensure that
you have all of your bases covered, making it more difficult for
cybercriminals to gain entry. By sharing experiences with peers,
you can spot patterns quicker and share best practices on
network and endpoint security and employee training.
Whitepaper | 3
4 . B UIL D A SEC UR I T Y F O R T R E S S A ND P R O T EC T I T
W I T H A P ER SI S T EN T WAT CHD O G
Safeguarding your company data requires taking both a micro
and a macro view of your security posture. ISO27001 compliance
provides a useful framework for implementing ongoing security
best practices and you should ensure that your technology
providers follow the same high standards.
You can invest in the best firewalls, network access controls,
encryption, and SIEM technologies on the market, but your
endpoints are still in the hands of the employees. A recent
Verizon study found that 71% of cybercriminals target user
devices (Verizon 2014). With more employees working on the
go, the endpoint has become one of the biggest threats to data
security.
Persistence technology from Absolute acts as a watchdog over
your endpoints and the sensitive data they contain. It offers IT a
trusted lifeline to each device in their deployment, regardless of
user or location. IT administrators can receive encryption status
reports, monitor potentially suspicious devices, and remotely
invoke pre-emptive or reactive security measures such as device
freeze, data delete or data retrieval.
Persistence technology is
embedded in the firmware
of most computer, tablet,
and smartphone devices
at the factory. It is built to
detect when the Absolute
Data & Device Security (DDS)
agent has been removed.
If the agent is missing,
Persistence will ensure it
“Recent breaches
automatically reinstalls, even
if the firmware is flashed, the
at Home Depot and
device is re-imaged, the hard
Dairy Queen were
drive is replaced, or if a tablet
traced back to
or smartphone is wiped
compromises at third
clean to factory settings.
Absolute DDS also enables
party suppliers.”
forensic functionality
for confidential insight into internal criminal activity or noncompliance, as well as the investigation and recovery of stolen
or lost devices. In fact, 80% of endpoint data breach scenarios
can be mitigated with Absolute.
5 . F O R M A N A C T I O N A B L E CR I SI S P L A N
Every organization is just one mistake away from a crisis.
Build a cybercrime playbook filled with attack scenarios and
response actions. Put escalation levels in place and decide how
transparent you want to be about an attack.
A data breach will impact most departments in an organization,
as well as any business associates that may be connected to
the breach. It is important to establish a crisis management
team with the heads of each department including public
relations, human resources, IT, legal, and finance. Key
stakeholders should provide relevant information pertaining to
the incident. For example, in the case of a breach caused by a
compromised device, IT can provide an audit log highlighting a
device’
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