Many security incidents you read about highlight breaches of a company from an external actor. But enterprises have reimagined how they view security, preferring to look inward to protect their most valuable systems and information – privileged accounts and privileged access.
While hackers and breaches make headlines, threats and exposures just as often originate inside an organization due to poor security hygiene, ignorance of security best practices or malicious attacks. A recent report on the healthcare field revealed only 12 percent of data breaches in February 2017 were the result of hacking, while insiders were responsible for 60 percent of total breaches in the month. And these insider threats are often not from users with malicious intent, but rather those not very security conscious.
This pattern is evident across industries as organizations struggle to secure access from within, and identify which employees, vendors and partners to label as “privileged users” who have access to the accounts and information that hackers looking to steal and exploit.
Privileged users can exist in any area of an organization. They represent higher risk as insider threats, and will always be attractive targets for hackers. In a slideshow on CSO Online, Bomgar’s Sam Elliott describes 10 employee roles that could be an internal security threat in any organization.
This should put privileged account security at the top of any IT or security professional’s list. Visit the slideshow to find out why these employees could be considered privileged users that may require additional security precautions. For more information on the fastest way to protect your most critical assets from cyber and insider threats, check out Bomgar Privileged Access.
