Broken Trust – The Information Security Dangers of Insider Threats

  The increasing awareness of external cyber-security threats has executives focused on how their organisation can be defended against the “enemy at the gates”. But are organisations just as much at risk from an “enemy within”? In this article Dr Peter Chapman, Director in the Ferrier Hodgson Forensic Technology and eDiscovery team and InfoGovANZ advisory board member, provides an opinion and case study on insider threat. The media provides us with constant reminders of the threat of cyber-criminals and other external attackers. Recent legislative and regulatory changes such as the European Union GDPR requirements and mandatory breach notification amendments to the Australian Privacy Act have only increased our awareness, specifically with regards to ensuring that personally identifiable information (PII) in the possession of the organisation is safeguarded. While PII data is undoubtedly a target of external attackers, and external threats must be guarded against, organisations may be overlooking significant insider […]