Malicious Behavior Security Threats!

Risks to data security multiply as companies conduct more and more of their business electronically, and while it’s challenging to demonstrate the return on investment for security measures, the cost of failing to maintain well-balanced security could quickly become catastrophic. Technology professionals must be prepared to face new security risks as they arise. Certain strategies can help companies cope with threats to their networks, data, and ultimately, their reputations. Knowing the best methods for security risk assessment and performing such assessments regularly is the first step to protecting any organization against not only external threats but also focus on the internal threats.

To do that first we need to understand the characteristics of an external threat? Well, these are attacks from individuals that have no formal relation to your organization. They are typically targeted attacks. The goal could be causing damage to the company through something like a denial-of-service attack, or it could be an attack attempting to acquire inside information, either way the attacker has a clear goal in mind. Often, these types of attacks are opportunistic in nature. If the attacker sees an opening, he will go for it.

So what are the big motivators for external threats? Well, number one on our list is greed. This is probably the biggest motivator. Now curiosity is another one, it can definitely be a motivator. Many attackers will attempt to hit a target just to see if it can be done, that way they get the bragging rights. Then there is retaliation. Now this can also be a motivator, retaliation against a company for a number of reasons. For example, may be they are business models that some outsider doesn't agree with or perhaps retaliation from a rival company for stealing business away from them.

Internal threats are classified as threats that come from current or former employees, customers, or even suppliers. These types of attacks can be particularly dangerous because the attacker should know her way around your network and should have a better idea of how to circumvent security measures and maximize the damage to the organization.

Now let's look at some of the motivators that motivate internal attacks. There are disgruntled or unhappy employees. If the disgruntled employee had administrative powers there is a lot of harm that they could do. Often, these attacks are motivated by financial gain. Think about a sales rep that's losing their job and wants to take all of their clients with them. Business advantage is another motivator. Imagine if you work for a company and then decide to leave and create your own company to compete with your current employer. You could have a clear business advantage by stealing the trade secrets from the employer.