Insider breaches hit 94 percent of organizations

Insider data breaches have been experienced by 94 percent of organizations in the past year, according to a new survey of 500 IT leaders and 3,000 employees in the US and UK, from email security company Egress.

Human error is the top cause of serious incidents, according to 84 percent of IT leaders surveyed. However, respondents are more concerned about malicious insiders, with 28 percent saying that intentionally malicious behavior is their biggest fear.

Despite causing the most incidents, human error is bottom of the list of IT leaders' worries, with only 21 percent saying that it's their biggest concern. 56 percent believe that remote/hybrid working will make it harder to prevent data breaches caused by human error or phishing. Although 61 percent of employees think they are less, or just as, likely to cause a breach when working from home.

Looking at the cause of breaches, 74 percent of organizations have been breached because of employees breaking security rules, and 73 percent have been the victim of phishing attacks.

When it comes to reporting breaches, 97 percent of employees say they would do so. This is good news for the 55 percent of IT leaders who rely on employees to alert them to incidents. Honesty may not pay though as 89 percent of incidents lead to repercussions for the employees involved.

Egress CEO Tony Pepper says:

Insider risk is every organization's most complex vulnerability -- and it has far-reaching consequences, from ransomware attacks to loss of client trust. Organizations must act now to mitigate the risk posed by their people.

The research highlights the importance of empowering employees -- they want to protect their employer's data, and it's up to organizations to ensure that they're building a security-positive culture. With the right technology and strategy in place, organizations can transform their people from their biggest security vulnerability into their strongest line of defense.

You can get the full Insider Data Breach Survey 2021 report from the Egress site.

Image Credit: LeoWolfert/Shutterstock