Information is now one of the primary competitive weapons and business enablers for organizations of all kinds. The ability to provide the correct information to educate workers has driven a proliferation of information sharing—but with it has come significant risk. Insider threat—the actions of users who intentionally or accidentally cause damage to an organization— is now one of the most complex and difficult to manage problems facing IT security teams.
Defining and maintaining the right balance between providing access to sensitive information and the risk that insider action will result in a breach requires very careful assessment of organizational needs, business risk appetite and the application of sound processes supported by security technology. This short white paper will examine some of the important aspects of insider threat and will offer some guidance on how to reduce the risk. It will also examine the essential role that encryption can play in eliminating key areas of vulnerability.