The transition from a president to their successor is one of the most intricate processes in the United States’ democracy. An extreme level of caution is taken by everyone involved to ensure sensitive information is handled accordingly and the incumbent president (and those in the outgoing administration) does not continue to have access to ongoing administrative and security privileges.
But the same level of scrutiny often doesn’t seem to hold true with chief executive changeovers outside the White House. According to a recent study by the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), only 34% of organizations revoke system access to employees on the day they leave. This is concerning as the cost to remediate insider threats is rising -- up by 31% between 2017 and 2019, from $8.76 million to $11.45 million, according to The Ponemon Institute’s Cost of Insider Threats study.