Due to increase in a number of devices, data networks, and digital applications also increases the opportunities for exploitation. Apart from providing immediate access to all the information that is required, the internet has expanded their connectivity with suppliers, customers, and other business associates.
Today, most of the threats are not from outside but, within the organization. One need not be consciously wicked but, could result from carelessness or negligence on the part of employees. Data compromised by hackers, computer viruses, network outages and other incidents affect our lives in ways which range from inconvenient to life-threatening. It involves protecting systems as well as information on major cyber security threats, like cyber espionage, cyber terrorism, and cyber warfare. Employees may revel in many online activities which may have a negative impact on business –unauthorized file downloading or copying, misusing business emails or connecting with remote mobile devices and other official resources. In fact, nowadays corporate networks are inundated with increasing volumes of recreational traffic generated via employees. When such recreational traffic left unmanaged, can hastily force organizations to enhance their bandwidth and invest in higher capacity networks that can put pressure on corporate IT budgets. (Get highly secure ecommerce mobile app development)
Apart from influencing the efficiency of an employee and business performance, such rampant misuse of the internet by insiders might even have serious legal implications for organizations. Few of the most common insider threats which organizations need to be careful of:
Social Networking
The utilization of social media for connecting with partners and customers has motivated companies to officially support their marketing personnel to leverage these tools. But these apps have become a serious matter for organizations as they are now finding it tricky to prevent employees from sharing videos, photos and other personal files over these platforms. This is not only proving to be a big distraction but, also negatively impact the performance of business-critical apps. Several network managers also have security concerns regarding the leakage of sensitive data through social media.
Popular Applications and Recreational Sites
The young employees commonly use online gaming and streaming media sites like YouTube or other popular social media sites, and peer-to-peer (P2P) apps for sharing and downloading big sized files. Networks get burst with a wide range of recreational internet apps which can steal bandwidth from business critical apps, leading to slow response times and lost productivity. Many companies permit the use of such video streaming sites as they serve as efficient no-cost marketing and promotional platforms. This makes it that much more complex for organizations together blocks access to these applications.
Careless or Displeased Employees
Inside attacks might begin from careless or disgruntled employees who unintentionally create situations which lead to serious damage to the organization. In fact, employees those who have the knowledge and access to admin accounts, networks, and data centers can prove to be more damaging than strangers. Careless workers who don’t secure their devices properly may be likely to attacks. Apart from monitoring networks, it is becoming increasingly essential for organizations to train their employees on best security practices.
Therefore, it is necessary to monitor system, technical or policy-based, to know who is using the data, how it is being used, and whether an unauthorized person is viewing classified data. An unmanaged network access has the potential to unfavorably affect employee productivity and expose the organization to a number of new risks.