How Vulnerable Is Your Business To ‘Insider’ Crime?

If you run a business, have you considered the implications of what could happen were you to fall victim to ‘insider’ crime?

Have you for example:

Had a new computer system installed recently?

Made people redundant?

Had anybody leave your organisation ‘under a cloud’?

Now I’m not suggesting for one minute that your current or former employees would wilfully cause damage to your computer technology or attempt to steal from you, but equally there’s little point in pretending this kind of thing doesn’t happen either.

Everyone who has ever had access to your computer systems will have been privy to a certain amount of ‘insider knowledge’, whether that is in the form of log-ins, passwords, or other sensitive information.

As a business, it is vital that you take steps to make your IT set-up as ‘bullet proof’ as possible. To this end, using penetration testing experts to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities within your computer systems is a necessity for all committed business owners.

The 2012 study by the Ponemon Institute: “The Cost of Cyber Crime”, revealed that cyber crime costs UK organisations around £2.1m a year and that the UK companies polled reported 41 successful attacks per week (equivalent to 1.1 incident per organisation polled).

What’s more, Ponemon’s researchers found: “the most costly UK cyber crimes are those caused by malicious insiders, ‘denial of service’ attacks and malicious code.”

And sometimes, it isn’t malicious intent on the part of employees or former employees that can bring about a company’s downfall. Cisco’s recent Connected Technology report found that seven out of 10 ‘Gen Y’ young professionals frequently compromise their employer’s security to access ‘the Net’ – blatantly contravening IT rules and regulations for their own benefit.

Worryingly, credit firm Experian warns us that online fraud in the UK has trebled in the short period since 2010 and is predicted to get worse.

It is clear that every business and organisation needs to conduct a risk assessment now, and follow it up with a series of practical preventative measures that will effectively combat identified threats. Though the stark reality is, that many companies will not have staff with sufficient expertise to do this effectively.

Reassuringly, 98% of potential cyber threats to your livelihood can be eradicated completely once they have been identified. It is this identification process and ‘plugging of gaps’ which requires specialist knowledge and to this end, the services of a reputable penetration testing company will prove invaluable.

As an employer, you will know that your biggest asset is your workforce. By doing everything you reasonably can to thwart cyber threats – both from the inside and outside – of your business, you will be demonstrating your commitment to your staff’s welfare and wellbeing, as well as protecting the interests of your business.