Security Solutions to Combat Insider Threats
Evolving cybersecurity threats demand that agencies develop new levels of expertise and deploy new security solutions to safeguard their systems and data. This requires the use of flexible, sophisticated solutions that can be tailored to the mission-specific needs of agencies and departments. In most cases, a customized approach that draws upon a set of curated technologies is more effective than a one-size-fits-all solution.
As agencies turn their attention to combatting the insider threat, they depend on a set of powerful technologies:
- Network access control solutions control the devices and users that may connect to agency networks. NAC solutions can confirm that a device is authorized to connect to the network and verify the device’s current security posture before allowing it to gain access to other networked systems and resources. This approach prevents insiders with physical access to agency facilities from connecting unauthorized or unsecured devices to the network.
- Security assessment tools automatically scan agency systems and networks looking for vulnerable devices, web applications and other technology components that might present an entry point for attackers seeking to gain access to agency operations. This approach limits the ability of a malicious insider to escalate privileges and gain administrative rights by waging an internal attack against the agency.
- Email security solutions scan inbound and outbound email for signs of malicious activity, such as malware and phishing attacks. The use of email security solutions combats the insider threat by reducing the likelihood that an internal user will unintentionally fall victim to an attack seeking to gain access to their credentials.
- Endpoint security products protect all systems on the network from malicious software and monitor their security status on a continuous basis. These solutions prevent insiders from accidentally or intentionally infecting systems with malware or taking other actions that undermine their security controls.
Each of these solutions plays an important role in an agency’s cybersecurity strategy. Cybersecurity professionals consider each of them to be a critical component of an agency’s defense-in-depth approach to cybersecurity.