Insider threat profile

Before this can be described, its is important to understand the need for it, and this need was indicated by the US Department of Defense (DoD) in 2000, which is also when research by the CERT division was initiated. For an insight into the insider threat profile and its corresponding behavior, check out the link at https://ccdcoe.org/sites/default/files/multimedia/pdf/Insider_Threat_Study_CCDCOE.pdf.

A malicious threat that comes from within an organization, such as from employees, former employees, partners, associates, and so on, does need not come from outside to affect the systems of the organization. This attack is more menacing than that of other malware as this comes from people who have access to the main systems, and they have knowledge that allows them to bypass security in a legitimate manner. Insider threats exist everywhere. If someone says that they are not prone to an insider threat, then they may not actually know what one is and how fatal it can be for an organization. A so-called insider may try to access confidential files for personal gain. This gain can be anything from selling information to competitors to stealing it for the insider's own personal use.
The attrition rate in any organization is at a considerable level. People leave and join companies every year or two. This serves as a motivation for employees to keep certain information to themselves, as employees think that they have the right to hold on to such information just because of the fact that they had been working on that piece of information for a considerable amount of time. Talking about insider threats, not even the US government is free from insider threats. A report published in 2012 stated that most insider threats actually take place during an employee's working hours. Since technology has made it easier to identify where the breach or the attack started, there is no evidence, and the number of culprits were not identified in all the cases.