Companies are increasingly becoming aware of the importance and need for strong cyber resilience in the face of rising cyber-attacks.

Despite investing in costly cybersecurity software and engaging a cybersecurity team many businesses have failed to identify one of the hardest threats to guard against, internal cyber sabotage.

With recent data breach cases hitting the headlines, the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) is urging organisations to consider the level of access to confidential information their employees are given.

This concern was raised in light of Tesla’s data leak, which Tesla claims was perpetrated by a disgruntled employee who leaked their confidential data to the press.

Internal Leaks Can Happen to Anyone

Gerry Grant, Chief Ethical Hacker with Curious Frank, a division of the SBRC said: “When a business as successful as Tesla can suffer such a detrimental internal leak, anyone can. Businesses must put measures in place to make sure employees are behaving diligently and are not making any careless mistakes when it comes to your company’s private data.

“It’s not about distrusting your staff, but more about being aware of the access they have to confidential information within the organisation.

“We hear about employees from larger corporations complaining that they are restricted from accessing Gmail, but there is always a good reason behind these kinds of precautions.

“Typically, it is larger firms who make the news stories, but it is just as important for small businesses to have up-to-date security measures in place and to provide all staff members with data protection training.”

Regular Staff Training is Essential

Not only do companies need to be vigilant against malicious internal cyber sabotage, another more prevalent threat is the well-intentioned employee who accidentally exposes the company’s digital valuables.

Poor company cyberculture and a general lack of training are the key causes of these lapses, which leave the door open to cybercriminals.

Grant added: “The vast majority of staff are honest people. But even if that is the case, the threat exists – through simple negligence, allowing sensitive data to be accessed.

“To combat this, regular staff training and communication is vital – even the most secure system in the world is potentially flawed if a member of staff doesn’t adhere to your standards or isn’t kept up to date with best practice.”