Insider threats have become common as companies rely more on technology and digital information. Network security has become increasingly important to businesses looking to protect sensitive data.
Our guide will help you safeguard your company’s valuable information and maintain data integrity, including tips on how to prevent data theft by employees.
Data theft by employees has become a pressing concern for organizations of all sizes due to the modern digital-centric business environment.
report by Willis North America reveals that employees themselves perpetrate a staggering 90% of all major theft losses.
Employees who have authorized access to sensitive company data can easily abuse their privileges and compromise that information for personal gain or malicious intent.
Here’s how to prevent data theft by employees and establish a solid foundation:
Lack of employee awareness and training is one of the biggest threats to data security. Employees can unknowingly expose sensitive information to cybercriminals through their actions.
Organizations need employee training and awareness programs.
Training programs should cover:
These programs should also provide employees with the necessary tools to identify and report suspicious activities.
Employee awareness programs can make data security systems more secure. Educating employees about data security helps them understand their roles in protecting sensitive info.
Everyone in your organization should be able to understand and follow your security policies.
So, make sure to provide definitions and examples when necessary, avoid jargon and acronyms, and use clear, simple language. Make sure you use consistent terms and formats throughout your policies.
Templates, checklists, and guidelines can help you structure and write policies.
You can use a security audit to identify where your organization is meeting its security criteria and where it isn’t. Developing risk assessment and mitigation strategies for sensitive data requires security audits.
Successful audits should give your team a snapshot of your security posture and a starting point for remediation.
They provide a different view of IT security practices.
Reviewing your security policies help you to implement better controls or streamline processes. With threats from every angle, including internal ones, a faceted view of cybersecurity amplifies an organization’s ability to respond to security threats.
Here’s how to prevent data theft by employees:
Using multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a must in securing employee accounts. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide additional evidence of their identity beyond just a username and password.
If an employee loses their login credentials, it prevents attempts to take over the account.
Organizations can control and monitor who has access to their networks using network access control (NAC) systems.
With these solutions that give granular control over user and device access, IT teams can segment employees by job role and enforce appropriate access policies.
Secure authentication must go beyond employee accounts.
Implement strong authentication measures for all devices and applications accessing corporate data, whether on-premises or in the cloud. You can use biometrics, hardware keys, and other advanced methods to make sure only authorized devices and users can access it.
Organizations should restrict employee access to data and resources through role-based access control (RBAC). They minimize the risk of data theft by aligning permissions with job roles to restrict access to sensitive information.
Detecting potential data theft attempts requires continuous monitoring and analysis of user behavior and network activity.
Organizations should deploy solutions that can identify and flag suspicious activities, such as unusual database queries, unauthorized access to sensitive files, or sudden spikes in data exfiltration.
Maintaining rigorous user access review processes and following least privilege principles can significantly reduce insider data theft.
The principle of least privilege, a cornerstone of access management, ensures employees receive only the essential access necessary for their tasks. Putting this in place prevents rogue or compromised employees from accessing and misusing sensitive information.
Upholding the least privilege principle requires regular review and adjustment of access permissions based on changing roles and responsibilities.
Maintaining control over who can access sensitive data requires regular reviews of user access permissions.
Organizations should implement a formal process to periodically audit employee access rights and revoke any unnecessary privileges. It prevents malicious insiders from accumulating excessive permissions over time.
Offboarding processes are equally important for mitigating the risks posed by departing employees. Data access must be swiftly revoked upon an employee’s departure to prevent data theft. Automating this offboarding workflow can ensure a consistent and timely response to employee departures.
Maintaining a centralized and comprehensive system for managing user accounts and permissions can greatly improve an organization’s ability to control access to sensitive information.
Using a single platform, IT teams can better monitor, audit, and respond to changes in employee access rights.
Then you can implement consistent access policies across the board.
Privileged account management (PAM) can make it easier to maintain tight control over these sensitive credentials.
PAM systems give users the ability to store and rotate privileged passwords securely, as well as monitor and audit their activities.
Along with robust access controls and security policies, organizations should also ensure that sensitive data assets are directly protected.
Using a multifaceted approach to data security helps companies minimize employee theft and misuse.
You can prevent data theft by encrypting sensitive data during transit and at rest. Data encryption reduces the impact of unauthorized parties being able to read the information.
Ensure the encryption of sensitive data regardless of whether it resides on-premises, in the cloud, or undergoes transfer between systems or users.
Using a comprehensive data loss prevention (DLP) solution can help organizations monitor, detect, and prevent sensitive data loss. DLP systems can scan and analyze data across various channels, including:
Cloud network security becomes increasingly vital as organizations rely more on cloud-based collaboration and storage platforms.
It includes implementing robust access controls, such as MFA and RBAC, to limit employee access to only the necessary resources and data.
Monitor employee activity and network traffic to detect data theft. Detecting and alerting anomalous behavior, like excessive data downloads or unusual file access patterns, should be part of every organization’s security strategy.
You minimize insider data theft by quickly detecting and responding to warning signs.
Implementing robust physical security measures can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access and theft.
Physical security practices include limiting and controlling access to sensitive information and critical assets.
Access control systems such as keycards, biometric authentication, or security checkpoints can accomplish this. Keeping strict visitor management protocols and regularly reviewing and updating access permissions can also prevent unauthorized entry.
There are serious security risks associated with paper documents.
Dispose of these materials correctly to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information. Use cross-cut shredders to shred confidential papers or hire a document destruction company to ensure irreversible destruction.
Without proper management, portable storage devices, like USB drives and external hard drives, can pose a big security risk. Enforce strict policies and controls on these devices, including authorization requirements, tracking device usage, and conducting malware scanning.
Encrypting sensitive data stored on portable devices can also reduce the risk of loss or theft.
The increasing use of mobile devices for business operations makes it essential to protect company-owned smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Mobile device management policies, strong passwords, and biometric authentication, as well as regular software updates and security controls can help protect sensitive information on these devices.
Effective response and incident management are critical components of this strategy.
Organizations should develop an incident response plan outlining steps to:
Organizations should be ready to conduct a thorough investigation and forensic analysis whenever there’s a suspicion of data theft to determine what happened.
After an incident, organizations should assess their response processes, identify improvements, and implement corrective measures.
Perimeter81 offers a powerful, cloud-based solution to help organizations of all sizes create a bulletproof security strategy to protect against internal and external data theft threats.
Our converged platform makes setting up and managing your network, users, and resources easy while enforcing a robust zero-trust access policy.
Join a 15-minute demo to learn how Perimeter81 can help you:
Don’t let employee data theft put your organization at risk.
Take the first step towards a bulletproof security strategy by scheduling a demo with Perimeter81 today.
