How to Secure Your Workplace from Inside Cyber Attacks

It’s frustrating, but it’s true: Cyber criminals routinely target workplaces, especially small businesses. Online attackers have learned through trial-and-error that breaking through a company’s security, whether through hacking or social engineering, can lead to a pretty big windfall.

IT directors, CTOs, and other security professionals are responsible for maintaining internet and data security within their companies, and yet, they are often pitted against well-funded, thoroughly researched, and highly sophisticated scammers. These cyber criminals change their methods all the time, adapting and adjusting.

Unfortunately, there is another concern to be aware of: insider threats from disgruntled, angry, terminated, or ideologically motivated employees. You may not realize that someone within your organization is harboring negative intentions. There are even scammers who go to work every day, with their employers having no idea what that person could do if they decided to harm the company.

That’s why it is so important to regularly assess and update your cybersecurity measures. You have to stay ahead of the scammers that are undoubtedly going to target your infrastructure or your employees.

Workplace cybercrime statistics

Recent data confirms that cyber attackers go after workplaces, and the impact is significant. Check out these statistics from Viking Cloud:

By 2025, the global cost of cybercrime to businesses is expected to soar to $10.5 trillion, and it could climb to a staggering $15.63 trillion by 2029.
Nearly all cyberattacks—up to 98%—rely on social engineering tactics.
Each Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack now costs companies about $4.67 million on average, making up roughly 8.5% of total data breaches.
Ransomware is responsible for about 27% of all malware-related attacks currently affecting businesses.
One in five small or mid-sized businesses would not survive financially if hit by a major cyberattack.

It’s no surprise that companies are trying to figure out how to prevent cyber attacks in the workplace. A single attack has the potential to devastate your organization!

What makes a workplace susceptible to a cyber attack?

Workplaces are susceptible to cyber attacks because they are an appealing target for cyber criminals. In almost every case, businesses are responsible for far more data than any individual. Also, every employee is a possible weak link in the chain, and there are far more opportunities to target people through social engineering scams.

These criminals are eager to access:

Massive amounts of customer or employee data
Financial records and accounts
Proprietary company information and intellectual property

There is also a monetary interest in holding a company hostage through ransomware; businesses are forced to pay huge amounts of money to get access to their systems again after one of these attacks.

Signs that your company may be susceptible to a cyber attack include:

Unusual network activity
Frequent phishing attempts (and employees who fall for them!)
Being forced to work with outdated software
Employees with weak passwords
A lack of multi-factor authentication

Sensitive work is happening on other networks without a VPN

Cyber attacks in the workplace can result from employee mistakes or manipulation.

When attacks come from “the inside”

Employees typically don’t intend to cooperate with hackers to harm their employer. However, that’s exactly what happens when savvy criminals trick employees into downloading ransomware, handing over passwords, or accidentally creating an “in” for the hacker to exploit.

Unfortunately, there are times when insiders intentionally use their knowledge of or access to an organization to cause harm. Whether intentional or not, insider attacks are a growing threat to modern companies.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration (CISA) includes the following as forms of insider attacks:

Espionage
Terrorism
Unauthorized disclosure of information
Corruption, including participation in transnational organized crime
Sabotage
Workplace violence
Intentional or unintentional loss or degradation of departmental resources or capabilities

10 Recommendations from CISA to prevent insider threats

CISA provides an Insider Threat Mitigation Guide to help corporations, organizations, and government entities avoid these threats.

Establish executive leadership and multi-disciplinary governance
Your leadership structure should include individuals from HR, IT, security, legal, and other relevant disciplines to ensure comprehensive oversight for how to prevent and address insider threats.

Build a protective and supportive culture
Focus on helping people rather than just catching wrongdoing, encourage confidential reporting without fear of retaliation, and emphasize that the program exists to support both individuals and organizational security.
Implement the detect-assess-manage framework
Use both human observation and technology to detect concerning behaviors, conduct thorough threat assessments to determine risk levels, and implement tailored intervention strategies to prevent incidents.
Create a multi-disciplinary threat management team
Establish a team with diverse expertise (security, HR, IT, legal, behavioral health) to analyze cases holistically. You’ll need to assess threats objectively and develop appropriate management strategies for each situation.
Focus on behaviors, not profiles
Train staff to recognize specific concerning behaviors and indicators of potential insider threats, rather than relying on demographic profiles. You need to emphasize that the presence of stressors or predispositions doesn’t guarantee someone will become a threat.
Identify and protect critical assets
Determine your organization’s most valuable “crown jewels” (intellectual property, sensitive data, critical systems) and prioritize protection efforts based on what would cause the most damage if compromised.
Deploy technology with human analysis
Use User Activity Monitoring (UAM), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and other technical tools to detect anomalies, but ensure that skilled analysts interpret the data within its proper context. You can’t rely solely on automated alerts.
Address grievances and provide support
Proactively address legitimate employee concerns and grievances. One way to do this is through Employee Assistance Programs and mental health resources. Consider interventions that preserve stakeholders’ dignity while managing risk.
Maintain legal and privacy compliance
Work closely with legal counsel to ensure all activities comply with employment law, privacy regulations, and civil liberties protections while establishing proper documentation and evidence handling procedures.
Plan for respectful terminations and ongoing monitoring
When terminating an employee’s position is necessary, conduct it thoughtfully with security present. Provide face-saving outcomes whenever possible and continue monitoring post-termination since grievances may persist and former insiders retain valuable organizational knowledge.

Cyber attacks can be prevented through strong password policies.

Best security practices to keep your organization secure

It is essential to your organization’s health that you protect your data, networks, and hardware. This isn’t an impossible task, but it is challenging!

Consider these steps:

Require anyone who uses your network to use a strong password, combining upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
Use multi-factor authentication (AKA: 2-factor authentication) for as many applications as possible.
Train your employees never to share their password with anyone–not even someone from IT!
Learn together how to avoid phishing attempts, especially those that encourage the recipient to “take immediate action!”
Encourage employees to lock their devices, including their laptops, when they step away from their desks.
Emphasize to your employees the importance of protecting personal information, including passwords, log-in credentials, employee ID numbers, and personally identifiable information such as Social Security Numbers and financial account numbers.
Invest in a robust network security program. This includes using high-quality security software, as well as hiring qualified, knowledgeable security professionals to keep your network safe.
Provide and even require training on data and network security. If training sessions are optional, be sure to incentivize them to get as many people to attend as possible.
Require employees to use a VPN when logging into work networks remotely.
Keep your software and hardware up to date.

Be proactive and protect your networks from insider attacks

Protecting your network from insider attacks, whether intentional or unintentional, is a major responsibility for every single company. It’s also a company-wide effort that requires contributions from everyone, from the newest entry-level employee to the executives in the C-suite.

The worst thing you can do is assume that “it will never happen here.” That’s how ill-prepared companies end up losing millions of dollars to cyber attacks. The best approach is to be proactive. Plan your security efforts with precision, care, and attention to the latest scams.