Just Released: HR and Insider Threat Mitigation White Paper

Arlington, VA (September 25, 2020) — INSA today released a new white paper, Human Resources and Insider Threat Mitigation: A Powerful Pairing that focuses on the importance of integrating Human Resources into an interdisciplinary insider threat monitoring and mitigation approach. The paper finds that adopting a holistic insider threat policy allows an organization to not only identify potential “bad actors” but also help employees through difficult times, enabling the company both to reduce its susceptibility to insider risks and to retain talented personnel.

Developed by INSA’s Insider Threat Subcommittee, the paper notes that trusted insiders do not decide on the spur of the moment to harm their employers by leaking sensitive data, sabotaging computer networks, or committing violence in the workplace. Often, perpetrators exhibit concerning behaviors weeks or months before they act. As the corporate “first line of defense,” HR often has access to information that can help insider threat programs identify these potential bad actors and help troubled employees exit the critical pathway that could lead them to cause damage to the organization or its people. In short, HR engagement and leadership, together with key stakeholders such as Security, enable a comprehensive program that considers not only technical indicators but also human behavioral factors.

"September is Insider Threat Awareness Month and this paper provides a powerful reminder of the importance of taking a whole-person approach to insider threat. Collaboration between an organization's key stakeholders—HR, security, management, and legal—can reduce risks and foster a stronger more resilient workforce," remarked INSA President Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg.

Media Coverage