4 Internal Threats Every Business Owner Should Understand

In light of all the data leaks and vulnerabilities that have been brought to light over the past few years, network security has to be a priority for every business. One problem many organizations have is that while they are protecting their network and infrastructure from threats outside their company, the real threats are actually coming from inside. Today, we’ll look at four ways threats can cause havoc from inside your organization.

A lot of times, the problems a company has with its network and infrastructure come from the inside. There are countless ways your employees can cause a major security problem for your business. They include:

Retribution - Disgruntled employees can often be a problem for a business. This is no more evident than in its IT. If the employee is dissatisfied with elements of their job, they could conceivably take it out on the business. They can delete information, deliberately bring malware onto your network, or just be blatantly negligent to situations and your network can end up having many major problems. Moreover, if an employee is crafty enough, he/she could conceivably hide their betrayal; or worse yet, access the network after they’ve left the company.

To handle issues like this, promptly removing access to the network after a former employee leaves the company is one way to mitigate issues; while constantly monitoring workstation behavior can give you a precise idea on just how these types of issues can be unleashed in the first place.

Trickery - Hackers today realize that a frontal assault on a business network is mostly impossible, so they attempt to get in any way they can. If your employees haven’t been properly trained to decipher the telltale signs of a social engineering attack, they could put your company in a lot of danger.
Having a strategy to train your staff on the best practices of handling emails and extensions can go a long way toward keeping malware and unwanted visitors off of your network. The more they know how to protect themselves, the better they can protect your business.

Subversive Activities - The computers that your employees use are essential for productivity, sure, but they are also attached to one of the biggest distractions in human history: the Internet. Since there is an endless amount of content online, sometimes viewing that content can get in the way of their productivity. Some employees will go even further, viewing content that is highly inappropriate for work and could pick something up along the way, putting your network in jeopardy.

To ward against this, content filtering is a great option. It gives you the opportunity to block certain websites by a per user basis. By being able to control the content that your employees can access, you can eliminate a lot of distractions, while also controlling your network against the threats third-party sites can bring.

Leaking Data - Some employees could want to take information out of the sanctity of your network. Some are simply looking to be productive outside of the office, while some may just be looking to take data for personal or professional gain. Whatever their reason, it can be a big issue when people’s personal information is at stake.

One solution to this is hosting information in a secure cloud server with dedicated access control. Giving your employees the option to do more away from the office is a great strategy, while preventing them from accessing information they don’t need can go a long way toward protecting that information and your network.

If you would like more information about how to mitigate threats to your network and data, contact the certified professionals at Network Solutions Unlimited today at (217) 428-6449.