Rapid growth in the volume of sensitive information combined with new technologies has chipped away the effectiveness of traditional endpoint protections and network perimeter security, according to Vormetric's 2015 Insider Threat Report (ITR). The report, conducted online on its behalf by Harris Poll and in conjunction with analyst firm Ovum in fall 2014, included 818 IT decision makers in various countries, including 408 in the United States. The report details findings around how U.S. and international enterprises perceive security threats, the types of employees considered most dangerous, environments at the greatest risk for data loss and the steps organizations are taking to secure data.
According to the report, while Edward Snowden may be viewed as the “insider threat” poster child, not all employees have malicious intentions. Simply by having access, privileged insiders may unwittingly put data at risk – or be used by an outside actor as a conduit for siphoning data.