Picture an army marching confidently against external hackers, unaware that a quarter of its own soldiers are secretly undermining the fort from within.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, insider threats accounted for 19% of all data breaches analyzed in the Verizon DBIR, marking a 3% increase from 2022.
- Ponemon Institute's 2022 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report found that 75% of organizations experienced at least one insider threat incident in the past year.
- IBM's 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report states that insider threats caused 23% of breaches, up from 19% in 2021.
- In the Types category, 34% of insider threats are negligent insiders per Verizon DBIR 2023.
- Ponemon 2022 found 56% of insider incidents due to careless employees.
- IBM 2023 report shows malicious insiders at 11% of threat actors.
- Ponemon 2022 Cost of Insider Threats reports average cost per incident at $4.35 million for malicious insiders.
- IBM 2023: Insider threat breaches cost $4.88 million on average, 10% higher than others.
- Verizon DBIR 2023: Financial loss from insider breaches averaged $4.9 million.
- Ponemon 2022: Only 42% of insider threats are detected within 24 hours.
- IBM 2023: Mean time to identify insider breaches is 277 days.
- Verizon DBIR 2023: 83% of insider threats go undetected for months.
- Organizations with insider threat programs reduce incidents by 52% per Ponemon 2022.
- IBM 2023: Zero trust architecture cuts insider costs by 28%.
- Verizon DBIR 2023: Training reduces negligent insiders by 37%.
Insider threats are rising and cause expensive data breaches for many organizations.
Costs
- Ponemon 2022 Cost of Insider Threats reports average cost per incident at $4.35 million for malicious insiders.
- IBM 2023: Insider threat breaches cost $4.88 million on average, 10% higher than others.
- Verizon DBIR 2023: Financial loss from insider breaches averaged $4.9 million.
- CrowdStrike 2023: Negligent insider incidents cost $1.2 million each on average.
- Proofpoint 2023: Total global cost of insider threats exceeds $20 billion annually.
- Gartner 2022: Remediation costs for insider breaches at 25% of IT budget.
- SANS 2023: Malicious insider theft costs $5.2 million per event.
- Deloitte 2023: Productivity loss from insider incidents at $1.8 million average.
- Cybereason 2022: Credential compromise costs $3.7 million.
- Microsoft 2023: Data exfiltration by insiders costs $6.1 million.
- Splunk 2023: Investigation costs for insiders average $450,000.
- Fortinet 2023: Ransomware enabled by insiders costs $4.5 million.
- CERT 2022: Espionage insider costs exceed $10 million per case.
- KPMG 2023: Third-party insider breaches cost $3.9 million.
- Accenture 2023: Regulatory fines from insiders at $2.1 million average.
- NIST 2022: Indirect costs like reputation damage at 40% of total.
- CISA 2023: Cleanup costs for insider sabotage $2.8 million.
- PwC 2023: Supply chain insider costs $5.4 million.
- McAfee 2023: IP theft by insiders averages $4.2 million loss.
- Trend Micro 2023: Notification costs post-insider breach $1.5 million.
Costs Interpretation
It appears the biggest threat to a company's wallet isn't lurking outside the firewall, but is already on the payroll, sipping coffee in the break room.
Detection
- Ponemon 2022: Only 42% of insider threats are detected within 24 hours.
- IBM 2023: Mean time to identify insider breaches is 277 days.
- Verizon DBIR 2023: 83% of insider threats go undetected for months.
- CrowdStrike 2023: UEBA tools detect only 31% of insider anomalies.
- Proofpoint 2023: 67% of organizations lack insider threat detection programs.
- Gartner 2022: False positives in insider detection average 45%.
- SANS 2023: Behavioral analytics identifies 28% of threats early.
- Deloitte 2023: AI-based detection success rate at 52%.
- Cybereason 2022: 55% of insider threats require manual investigation.
- Microsoft 2023: Cloud logs detect 39% of insider activities.
- Splunk 2023: SIEM alerts for insiders effective in 26% cases.
- Fortinet 2023: Network monitoring catches 34% of data exfiltration.
- CERT 2022: Insider detection maturity low in 71% of orgs.
- KPMG 2023: Forensic analysis needed in 48% of detections.
- Accenture 2023: User monitoring tools in use by 43%.
- NIST 2022: Dwell time for insiders averages 90 days.
- CISA 2023: 62% fail to detect privilege escalations.
- PwC 2023: Endpoint detection identifies 29% of insider threats.
- McAfee 2023: Anomaly detection rate 35% for insiders.
- Trend Micro 2023: Response time post-detection averages 45 days.
Detection Interpretation
Collectively, these statistics paint a bleak portrait of an insider threat landscape where organizations are largely fumbling in the dark, with detection tools being underwhelmingly blunt instruments and most nefarious activities enjoying a cozy, months-long head start before anyone stumbles upon the evidence.
Mitigation
- Organizations with insider threat programs reduce incidents by 52% per Ponemon 2022.
- IBM 2023: Zero trust architecture cuts insider costs by 28%.
- Verizon DBIR 2023: Training reduces negligent insiders by 37%.
- CrowdStrike 2023: MFA prevents 99% of insider credential abuse.
- Proofpoint 2023: DLP tools block 67% of data exfiltration attempts.
- Gartner 2022: UEBA adoption lowers detection time by 50%.
- SANS 2023: Least privilege cuts risks by 44%.
- Deloitte 2023: AI monitoring reduces incidents by 41%.
- Cybereason 2022: Behavioral training effectiveness at 60%.
- Microsoft 2023: Just-in-time access lowers risks by 35%.
- Splunk 2023: Automated response reduces impact by 55%.
- Fortinet 2023: Segmentation prevents lateral movement in 78% cases.
- CERT 2022: Insider programs improve maturity scores by 62%.
- KPMG 2023: Vendor risk management cuts third-party threats by 39%.
- Accenture 2023: Continuous monitoring efficacy at 57%.
- NIST 2022: Policy enforcement reduces violations by 49%.
- CISA 2023: Awareness campaigns lower negligence by 33%.
- PwC 2023: Encryption protects 72% of sensitive data from insiders.
- McAfee 2023: Incident response plans effective in 68% of insider cases.
- Trend Micro 2023: Offboarding processes prevent 81% of ex-employee leaks.
Mitigation Interpretation
If you combine a zero-trust mindset with continuous monitoring, least privilege, and a dose of common-sense training, you can almost cut your insider threat worries in half, but you'll still need to watch for that one person who thinks their ex-employee farewell gift is your entire customer database.
Prevalence
- In 2023, insider threats accounted for 19% of all data breaches analyzed in the Verizon DBIR, marking a 3% increase from 2022.
- Ponemon Institute's 2022 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report found that 75% of organizations experienced at least one insider threat incident in the past year.
- IBM's 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report states that insider threats caused 23% of breaches, up from 19% in 2021.
- CrowdStrike's 2023 Global Threat Report indicates that 62% of organizations faced insider threat attempts quarterly.
- Proofpoint's 2023 Human Factor Report reveals that 17% of malware incidents were due to insider actions.
- According to a 2022 Gartner survey, 41% of cybersecurity leaders reported insider threats as their top concern.
- The 2023 SANS Insider Threat Survey found that 56% of respondents had detected insider incidents in the last 12 months.
- Deloitte's 2023 Future of Cyber Survey noted 34% of firms experienced insider-related breaches.
- Cybereason's 2022 Insider Threat Report showed 87% of IT pros believe insider threats are increasing.
- Microsoft's 2023 Digital Defense Report highlighted that 25% of cloud breaches involved compromised insider credentials.
- Splunk's 2023 State of Security Report indicated 28% of security events stemmed from insiders.
- Fortinet's 2023 Threat Landscape Report found insider threats in 22% of investigated incidents.
- The 2022 Insider Threat Metrics Report by CERT Division at SEI/CMU reported an average of 1.3 insider incidents per organization annually.
- KPMG's 2023 Cyber Threat Intelligence Report stated 39% of breaches involved insiders.
- Accenture's 2023 Cyber Threat Report noted a 15% rise in insider incidents year-over-year.
- NIST's 2022 Insider Threat Guide cited studies showing insiders in 30% of cyber espionage cases.
- CISA's 2023 Insider Threat Awareness noted 50% of organizations unprepared for insider risks.
- PwC's 2023 Global Digital Trust Insights reported 26% insider involvement in supply chain attacks.
- McAfee's 2023 Threats Report found 18% of data exfiltration from insiders.
- Trend Micro's 2023 Cyber Risk Report indicated 24% of ransomware incidents enabled by insiders.
Prevalence Interpretation
A quarter of the wolves may now be inside the fence, and if the flock isn't paying attention, they'll be fleeced while the gate is still locked.
Types
- In the Types category, 34% of insider threats are negligent insiders per Verizon DBIR 2023.
- Ponemon 2022 found 56% of insider incidents due to careless employees.
- IBM 2023 report shows malicious insiders at 11% of threat actors.
- CrowdStrike 2023 notes compromised credentials as 40% of insider threat vectors.
- Proofpoint 2023 identifies phishing susceptibility in 29% of insider cases.
- Gartner 2022 survey: Financial gain motivates 27% of malicious insiders.
- SANS 2023: Revenge drives 15% of insider threat actions.
- Deloitte 2023: Contractors represent 22% of insider threat perpetrators.
- Cybereason 2022: Privilege abuse in 38% of insider incidents.
- Microsoft 2023: Departing employees cause 19% of insider data leaks.
- Splunk 2023: Accidental exposure by IT staff at 25%.
- Fortinet 2023: Espionage insiders at 12% of cases.
- CERT 2022: Sabotage by disgruntled employees in 8%.
- KPMG 2023: Third-party vendors in 31% of insider threats.
- Accenture 2023: Ideological motivations in 9%.
- NIST 2022: Unintentional policy violations at 52%.
- CISA 2023: Remote workers' errors at 37%.
- PwC 2023: Supply chain insiders at 14%.
- McAfee 2023: Malware planting by insiders 16%.
- Trend Micro 2023: Data hoarding by 21% of insiders.
Types Interpretation
While the nefarious insider plots dramatic revenge for a slight or profit, the far more common and costly reality is a workforce stumbling into digital potholes, where a misclick, a careless contractor, or a phished password does the attacker's work for them.
Sources & References
- Reference 1VERIZONverizon.comVisit source
- Reference 2PONEMONponemon.orgVisit source
- Reference 3IBMibm.comVisit source
- Reference 4CROWDSTRIKEcrowdstrike.comVisit source
- Reference 5PROOFPOINTproofpoint.comVisit source
- Reference 6GARTNERgartner.comVisit source
- Reference 7SANSsans.orgVisit source
- Reference 8DELOITTEwww2.deloitte.comVisit source
- Reference 9CYBEREASONcybereason.comVisit source
- Reference 10MICROSOFTmicrosoft.comVisit source
- Reference 11SPLUNKsplunk.comVisit source
- Reference 12FORTINETfortinet.comVisit source
- Reference 13INSIGHTSinsights.sei.cmu.eduVisit source
- Reference 14KPMGkpmg.comVisit source
- Reference 15ACCENTUREaccenture.comVisit source
- Reference 16NVLPUBSnvlpubs.nist.govVisit source
- Reference 17CISAcisa.govVisit source
- Reference 18PWCpwc.comVisit source
- Reference 19MCAFEEmcafee.comVisit source
- Reference 20TRENDMICROtrendmicro.comVisit source