Insider Threat Awareness – Study: Insider Threats Caused by Unintentional Human Error are Costly

Proofpoint published its 2022 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report analyzing costs of a wide variety of insider threat risks. On average, an insider threat incident cost $484,931 in 2022 and takes 85 days to contain, both major impacts to small and medium businesses. Furthermore, 56 percent of those incidents occur simply due to employee or third party negligence or carelessness, instead of any malicious behavior. According to Proofpoint, this could be the result of a variety of factors, including not ensuring their devices are secured, not following the company’s security policy, or forgetting to patch and upgrade.

Credential theft, malicious insiders, and negligent users were the top three concerns for the IT professionals interviewed for the report. Insights into insider threats remind organizations that attackers are also on the inside (even if they aren’t intentional/malicious). Proofpoint encourages organizations to mitigate insider threats with a combined approach of employee training and technology that builds a strong security culture and creates the foundation for a full insider threat management program. Read more at Proofpoint.