Beware the Unwitting Insider Threat

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2015/01/beware-unwitting-insider-threat/104097/

By Jack Moore
Nextgov.com
January 29, 2015

Rank-and-file federal employees and contractors unwilling to “embrace ‘The 
Suck’ of security” may be the biggest threat posed to securing federal 
agency networks.

“Accidental or careless” insiders -- employees who click on dubious email 
attachments, plug in unsecured storage devices or leave laptops unsecured, 
among other lapses in basic cyber hygiene -- unwittingly open the door to 
hackers and other malicious actors.

In a new survey conducted by SolarWinds and Market Connections, 53 percent 
of IT decision-makers cited these unwitting insider threats as the biggest 
source of security threats they face. That’s up from the 42 percent who 
said so in a similar survey last year and higher than any other category 
of threat.

A focus on insiders intentionally breaching security protocols -- or worse 
-- has grown in recent years fueled by the WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden 
disclosures.

[...]

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