Phishing attacks aren’t a new threat. In fact, these scams have been circulating since the mid-’90s. But, over time, they’ve become more and more sophisticated, have targeted larger numbers of people, and have caused more harm to both individuals and organizations. That means that this year – despite a growing number of vendors offering anti-phishing solutions – phishing is a bigger problem than ever. The problem is so big, in fact, that it’s hard to keep up with the latest facts and figures. That’s why we’ve put together this article. We’ve rounded up the latest phishing statistics, including: The frequency of phishing attacks The tactics employed by hackers The data that’s compromised by breaches The cost of a breach The most targeted industries The most impersonated brands 

If you’re familiar with phishing, spear phishing, and other forms of social engineering attacks, skip straight to the first category of 2020 phishing statistics. If not, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite resources that you can check out first to learn more about this hard-to-detect security threat.  How to Identify and Prevent Phishing Attacks What is Spear Phishing? Spear Phishing Demystified: The Terms You Need to Know Phishing vs. Spear Phishing: Differences and Defense Strategies How to Catch a Phish: A Closer Look at Email Impersonation CEO Fraud Email Attacks: How to Recognize & Block Emails that Impersonate Executives Business Email Compromise: What it is and How it Happens Whaling Attacks: Examples and Prevention Strategies  The frequency of phishing attacks According to Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 22% of breaches in 2019 involved phishing. While this is down 6.6% from the previous year, it’s still the “threat action variety” most likely to cause a breach.  The frequency of attacks varies industry-by-industry (click here to jump to key statistics about the most phished). But 88% of organizations around the world experienced spear phishing attempts in 2019. Another 86% experienced business email compromise (BEC) attempts.  But, there’s a difference between an attempt and a successful attack. 65% of organizations in the United States experienced a successful phishing attack. This is 10% higher than the global average.  The tactics employed by hackers 96% of phishing attacks arrive by email. Another 3% are carried out through malicious websites and just 1% via phone. When it’s done over the telephone, we call it vishing and when it’s done via text message, we call it smishing. According to Symantec’s 2019 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), the top five subject lines for business email compromise (BEC) attacks: Urgent Request Important Payment Attention Hackers are relying more and more heavily on the credentials they’ve stolen via phishing attacks to access sensitive systems and data. That’s one reason why breaches involving malware have decreased by over 40%.

According to Sonic Wall’s 2020 Cyber Threat report, in 2019, PDFs and Microsoft Office files were the delivery vehicles of choice for today’s cybercriminals. Why? Because these files are universally trusted in the modern workplace.  When it comes to targeted attacks, 65% of active groups relied on spear phishing as the primary infection vector. This is followed by watering hole websites (23%), trojanized software updates (5%), web server exploits (2%), and data storage devices (1%).  The data that’s compromised by breaches The top five “types” of data that are compromised in a phishing attack are: Credentials (passwords, usernames, pin numbers) Personal data (name, address, email address) Internal data (sales projections, product roadmaps)  Medical (treatment information, insurance claims) Bank (account numbers, credit card information) While instances of financially-motivated social engineering incidents have more than doubled since 2015, this isn’t a driver for targeted attacks. Just 6% of targeted attacks are motivated by financial incentives, while 96% are motivated by intelligence gathering. The other 10% are simply trying to cause chaos and disruption. While we’ve already discussed credential theft, malware, and financial motivations, the consequences and impact vary. According to one report: Nearly 60% of organizations lose data Nearly 50% of organizations  have credentials or accounts compromised Nearly 50% of organizations are infected with ransomware Nearly 40% of organizations are infected with malware Nearly 35% of organizations experience financial losses

The cost of a breach According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost per compromised record has steadily increased over the last three years. In 2019, the cost was $150. For some context, 5.2 million records were stolen in Marriott’s most recent breach. That means the cost of the breach could amount to $780 million. But, the average breach costs organizations $3.92 million. This number will generally be higher in larger organizations and lower in smaller organizations.  Losses from business email compromise (BEC) have skyrocketed over the last year. The FBI’s Internet Crime Report shows that in 2019, BEC scammers made nearly $1.8 billion last year. That’s over half of the total losses reported by organizations. This cost can be broken down into several different categories, including: Lost hours from employees Remediation Incident response Damaged reputation Lost intellectual property Direct monetary losses Compliance fines Lost revenue Legal fees Costs associated remediation generally account for the largest chunk of the total.  Importantly, these costs can be mitigated by cybersecurity policies, procedures, technology, and training. Artificial Intelligence platforms can save organizations $8.97 per record.  The most targeted industires While the Manufacturing industry saw the most breaches from social attacks (followed by Healthcare and then Professional services), employees working in Wholesale Trade are the most frequently targeted by phishing attacks, with 1 in every 22 users being targeted by a phishing email last year.   According to a different data set, the most phished industries vary by company size. Nonetheless, it’s clear Manufacturing and Healthcare are among the highest risk industries. The industries most at risk in companies with 1-249 employees are: Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Education Manufacturing The industries most at risk in companies with 250-999 employees are: Construction Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Business Services The industries most at risk in companies with 1,000+ employees are: Technology Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing The most impersonated brands Earlier this year, Check Point released its list of the most impersonated brands. These vary based on whether the attempt was via email or mobile, but the most impersonated brands overall for Q1 2020 were: Apple Netflix Yahoo WhatsApp PayPal Chase Facebook Microsoft eBay Amazon The common factor between all of these consumer brands? They’re trusted and frequently communicate with their customers via email. Whether we’re asked to confirm credit card details, our home address, or our password, we often think nothing of it and willingly hand over this sensitive information.

What can individuals and organizations do to prevent being targeted by phishing attacks? While you can’t stop hackers from sending phishing or spear phishing emails, you can make sure you (and your employees) are prepared if and when one is received. You should start with training. Educate employees about the key characteristics of a phishing email and remind them to be scrupulous and inspect emails, attachments, and links before taking any further action. Review the email address of senders and look out for impersonations of trusted brands or people (Check out our blog CEO Fraud Email Attacks: How to Recognize & Block Emails that Impersonate Executives for more information.) Always inspect URLs in emails for legitimacy by hovering over them before clicking Beware of URL redirects and pay attention to subtle differences in website content Genuine brands and professionals generally won’t ask you to reply divulging sensitive personal information. If you’ve been prompted to, investigate and contact the brand or person directly, rather than hitting reply We’ve created several resources to help employees identify phishing attacks. You can download a shareable PDF with examples of phishing emails and tips at the bottom of this blog: Coronavirus and Cybersecurity: How to Stay Safe From Phishing Attacks. But, humans shouldn’t be the last line of defense. That’s why organizations need to invest in technology and other solutions to prevent successful phishing attacks. But, given the frequency of attacks year-on-year, it’s clear that spam filters, antivirus software, and other legacy security solutions aren’t enough. That’s where Tessian comes in. By learning from historical email data, Tessian’s machine learning algorithms can understand specific user relationships and the context behind each email. This allows Tessian Defender to not only detect, but also prevent a wide range of impersonations, spanning more obvious, payload-based attacks to subtle, social-engineered ones. To learn more about how tools like Tessian Defender can prevent spear phishing attacks, speak to one of our experts and request a demo today.

It’s the time of year where universities are sending more emails than normal as they make preparations to welcome students back in the fall and relay updates on their plans to transition to remote learning. Staff and students need to be aware though; hackers will use this ‘back to school’ momentum and will likely be impersonating trusted universities in phishing attacks to try and steal intellectual property as well as students’ valuable personal and financial information. It is, therefore, worrying that nearly all of the top 20 US universities are potentially at risk of having their institution’s domain impersonated by scammers in phishing emails.

In fact, Tessian’s researchers reveal that 40% of the top 20 US universities are not using Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) records. And while the other universities we analysed have published a DMARC record, the DMARC policies had not been set up to ‘quarantine’ or ‘reject’ any emails from unauthorized senders using its domains. Why does this matter? Without DMARC records in place, or without having DMARC policies set at the strictest settings, hackers can easily impersonate a university’s email domain in phishing campaigns, convincing their targets that they are opening a legitimate email from a fellow student, professor or administrator at their university. From that phishing email, hackers could lure staff or students to a fake website that has been set up to steal account credentials or request that their targets send personal or financial information. Against the backdrop of “back to school” and the shift to hybrid learning environments (with some universities restricting access to campuses), it wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary for a university to request this information. Students, therefore, may not realise they are being scammed – especially if the email domain looks legitimate. Configuring email authentication records like DMARC, and setting policies to the strictest settings, are necessary measures for preventing attackers from directly impersonating your company’s email domain. However, organizations also need to be aware that DMARC is not a silver bullet and hackers will find ways around it.

Why isn’t DMARC enough to prevent impersonation? Firstly, DMARC records are inherently public, and an attacker can use this information to select their targets and attack methods, simply by identifying organizations without an effective DMARC record. If your company has a strict email policy in place, the attacker can still carry out an advanced spear phishing attack by registering look-a-like domains, betting on the fact that a busy employee or distracted student may miss the slight deviation from the original domain. Secondly, while your organization might have DMARC in place, your external contacts may not. This means that while your company domain is protected against direct impersonation, your employees may be vulnerable to impersonation of external contacts like partners, suppliers or government bodies. What can you do to avoid being targeted by these scams? As universities plan to welcome students back next month – and inundate inboxes with updates between now and then — it’s critical that they take action to build robust security measures that can protect their staff and students against email scams. Here are some top tips to help you avoid the back to school scams. Cybersecurity tips for universities: Assess email security policies and solutions: Are they robust enough to spot sophisticated spear phishing attacks? Enable multi-factor authentication: This easy-to-implement security precaution helps prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing systems and data in the event a password is compromised. Increase awareness: Make staff and students aware of potential scams and provide advice on what they should look out for (for example, carefully inspect deviations in the email domain and inspect URLs). Ask staff and students to report incidents: Security and IT teams have a better chance of remediating new threats and preventing future ones. Cybersecurity tips for faculty staff and students: Think before you share: Never share direct deposit details or your personal information like your Social Security number on an unfamiliar website. Think before you click: If anything seems unusual, do not follow or click links or download attachments. Verify the request: If you receive an email from your university asking for urgent action, question its legitimacy and if you’re not sure, contact the university directly to verify the request. Report threats to the university: Security and IT teams will be able to investigate incidents and take action to prevent similar threats in the future.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is now in force, and those that fail to comply are open to civil penalties and private lawsuits.  But, many business, security, and compliance leaders are still scratching their heads, wondering how the CCPA will affect them, how to stay compliant, and what consequences they face in the event of a data breach. We’re here to help. We’ve answered some of the key questions businesses are asking about, from the scope of the CCPA to violations under this strict data privacy law.  Not what you were looking for? We’ve covered the 5 Things Every CISO Should Know About CCPA’s Impact on Their InfoSec Program in a seperate blog.  Scope of the CCPA Who is covered by the CCPA? The CCPA covers several types of entities, primarily “businesses.” If your company qualifies as a business, it needs to comply with the CCPA. A business can be any legal entity that operates for profit in California and meets one or more of the CCPA’s three thresholds: It has annual gross revenues in excess of $25 million It annually buys, sells, or shares for commercial purposes, the personal information of 50,000 or more California consumers, households, or devices  It earns 50 percent or more of its annual revenues from selling consumers’ personal information Does the CCPA only apply to big businesses? At first glance, the thresholds above may appear to only apply to large corporations, social media companies, and “data brokers.”  But the truth is, many companies with targeted advertising campaigns may meet the requirements of threshold “B.” This is because using third-party cookies is likely to constitute “selling personal information. (More information below. Click here to jump ahead.)  Therefore, a company is likely to be covered by the CCPA if its website or mobile app: Uses third-party advertising or analytics cookies (or similar technologies), and Generates at least 50,000 unique hits originating in California per year.

Does the CCPA cover non-Californian companies? It doesn’t matter if your business is based in Los Angeles, London, or Lahore. The determining factors are whether you collect the personal information of California residents (“consumers”), and whether you meet one or more of the three thresholds above. Does your business collect the personal information of California residents? It does if they:  Visit your website (assuming you use web analytics or cookies to measure engagement or track visitors) Sign up to your newsletter Make an enquiry about your services That means that if you have a website that attracts visitors from around the world, chances are you’re obligated to satisfy the CCPA.  What is “Personal Information” under the CCPA? The CCPA defines “personal information” as: “…information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.” It’s worth mentioning that this is arguably the broadest definition of “personal information” under any privacy law in the world. Nonetheless, the CCPA provides examples of the types of data that might qualify as personal information.  While this list is not exhaustive, it includes: Name Email address IP address Cookie data Device ID Biometric data Geolocation data It’s very common for a business to collect these types of information every time a person visits its website or uses its app. And, it’s also impossible to do business with a consumer without collecting at least some of this information.  Think about it. When you buy something on an e-commerce website, what information do you provide? What is a “Service Provider” under the CCPA? A service provider is a legal entity that processes personal information on behalf of a business.  For example, a marketing company receives a list of email addresses from a business and sends out its newsletter. The marketing company doesn’t have a direct interest in the end result of this activity — it simply obeys the instructions of the business. A service provider must also operate under a contract with the business from whom it receives personal information. This contract must prohibit the service provider from retaining, using, or disclosing the personal information for any purpose outside of the contract. In layman’s terms: Service providers are not directly liable for most CCPA obligations. But, if a service provider’s negligence or wrongdoing leads to a data breach, it can be sued by the client.  Service providers can also receive civil penalties (more on that here) in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, it’s not clear yet what these “certain circumstances” are. As and when we have more context, we’ll update this blog! Violating the CCPA What is the CCPA’s Private Right of Action? Under the CCPA’s private right of action, a consumer — or group of consumers — can bring a legal claim against a business that fails to secure certain types of their personal information and suffers a data breach. (You can read more about what types of PI in this blog.) But, what happens if a consumer does pursue this private right of action? It can lead to: Statutory damages — an amount of money paid to each consumer, determined by the court, depending on the seriousness of the breach (among other factors). Statutory damages fall between $100 and $750 per consumer, per incident. Actual damages —  an amount of money paid to each consumer, based on what they have actually lost as the result of a breach. In the event of large-scale data breaches involving millions of consumers, damages could add up to billions of dollars. We’ve yet to see any legal claims completed under the CCPA. However, what if the CCPA had been in force throughout Facebook’s “Cambridge Analytica” scandal? Privacy lawyer Nicholas Schmidt estimates that the damage could have been between $61.6 billion and $184.7 billion. What are the CCPA’s civil penalties? The California Attorney General can issue civil penalties to businesses or service providers that violate any part of the CCPA. The CCPA’s civil penalties can be for an amount of: Up to $7,500 per intentional violation, such as knowingly selling personal information where a consumer has opted out. Up to $2,500 per unintentional violation, such as failing to impose reasonable security measures leading to a data breach.  Note: This is why it’s so important organization’s have strong security policies, procedures, and solutions in place. Reducing risk by improving your security posture is key. Tessian helps prevent data exfiltration and accidental data loss. Our solutions also help security leaders proactively protect their systems and data through automated intelligence and robust investigation and remediation tools. Learn more. The California Attorney-General must give a business 30 days’ notice of its alleged CCPA violation. If the business can “cure” the violation within this period, it can escape a penalty. While it’s not clear how a business can “cure” a CCPA violation, examples may include imposing security measures to “stem” a data breach or successfully retrieving personal information that has been exfiltrated. Privacy regulators are increasingly imposing harsh penalties on big tech companies. The CCPA takes clear inspiration from the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has seen the following large fines: €50 million (Google, France) €27.8 million (TIM telecommunications company, Italy) €204.6 million (British Airways, UK — not yet enforced)

CCPA Data Security Requirements What counts as a data breach under the CCPA? The CCPA defines a data breach as: “…unauthorized access and exfiltration, theft, or disclosure as a result of the business’ violation of the duty to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information to protect the personal information” Here are the key elements of this definition: Unauthorized access Exfiltration Theft Disclosure A failure to “maintain reasonable security procedures and practices” Remember that a data breach can be intentional or unintentional and it can originate from a person inside or outside of your business. Read more about Insider Threats on our blog. According to the most recent California Data Breach Report, misdirected emails (emails sent to the wrong recipient) were the leading cause of data breaches. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");

In the UK, misdirected emails were also the most common cause of data breach in quarter 4 of 2019-20, according to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). As we’ve said, the CCPA requires a proactive approach to maintaining data security. Read about how Tessian can help CCPA compliance below or learn more about Tessian Guardian, which detects and prevents misdirected emails before they happen. What is “reasonable security” under the CCPA? The CCPA doesn’t define “reasonable security procedures and practices.”  However, in the most recent California Data Breach Report, the California Attorney-General clearly states that meeting the 20 Critical Security Controls from the Center for Internet Security (CIS) represents a minimum reasonable level of security.

The CIS Critical Security Controls include: Email and web browser protection Malware protection Application software security It’s worth noting that email is the threat vector most security leaders are worried about protecting. Find out why.  CCPA Consumer Rights What are the CCPA Consumer Rights? The CCPA’s consumer rights are: The right to know — consumers may request information about the types of information a business has collected, used, and shared about them over the past 12 months. They may also request copies of the specific pieces of information that the business holds about them. The right to delete — consumers may request that a business deletes the personal information it holds about them. The right to opt out — consumers may instruct a business not to sell their personal information The right to non-discrimination — businesses may not offer a lesser quality of goods or services or demand a higher price for goods or services if a consumer exercises their CCPA rights. The right to opt in (for minors) — businesses must obtain opt-in consent before selling the personal information of minors under the age of 16. They must obtain parental consent before selling the personal information of minors under the age of 13. In upholding these consumer rights, businesses have an obligation to provide individuals certain types of notice. More on that below.  What are the CCPA’s notice requirements? Under the CCPA, businesses must provide up to four types of notice to consumers: Privacy Policy — details which categories of personal information the business has collected, used, disclosed, and sold over the past 12 months. Every businesses must include a clear and prominent link to its Privacy Policy on its website and/or app. Notice at collection — provided at the point at which the business collects personal information from a consumer. This could appear, for example, as a disclaimer at the top of a sign-up form, informing consumers about what personal information the business is collecting and why. Notice of the right to opt-out — enables consumers to opt out of the sale of their personal information (where applicable). This must include a prominent link on a business’s homepage reading “Do Not Sell My Personal Information.” It might also take the form of a “cookie banner” enabling consumers to opt out of personalized advertising. Notice of financial incentives — informs consumers about any financial incentives offered for the processing of their personal information (where applicable). This can appear as a disclaimer when consumers are invited to sign up to certain types of “loyalty schemes.” What counts as “selling” Personal Information under the CCPA? The CCPA defines “selling” personal information as: “…selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a consumer’s personal information by the business to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.” There is a lot of debate about what this means for businesses. Virtually any transfer of personal information that benefits your company could constitute a “sale.”  And, because of the very broad phrasing, this definition is likely to include the use of third-party cookies, which involve “transferring” “personal information” (such as IP addresses and device IDs) to “a third party” for “valuable consideration.” Don’t worry, there are several approaches to transferring Personal Information without “selling” it, including engaging a service provider when disclosing personal information for business purposes. How can Tessian help with CCPA compliance? While some parts of the CCPA are still open to debate, we know the following facts for certain: Data breaches will leave CCPA-covered businesses open to significant risks of private litigation and civil penalties. Failure to implement reasonable security procedures and practices will: Increase the likelihood of a data breach occurring, and Lead to more substantial fines and more serious legal claims. As one of the CIS Critical Security Controls, “email protection” is one of the minimum requirements for “reasonable security.” Tessian’s Human Layer Security solutions can fulfill a crucial element of your company’s duty to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices. Tessian Guardian — prevents your employees from emailing personal or sensitive company information to the wrong person. Tessian Enforcer — prevents the exfiltration of company data to unauthorized recipients. Tessian Defender — detects and prevents inbound “spear-phishing” attacks designed to trick your employees into divulging personal information. Learn more about Tessian’s solutions by booking a demo. 

Across continents, the Tessian community is formed of diverse and intersectional people collectively working to secure the Human Layer. But, this month we’re proud to honor the contributions of LGBTQ+ Tessians and the importance of freedom of sexual orientation and gender expression in the workplace. With Human First as a core value at Tessian, we approach everything with empathy and we look out for each other alongside our own wellbeing. Respect, kindness, and inclusion are at the core of our company because our humanity is what makes us who we are. That’s why we’re launching Tessian Plus. And, we’re thrilled that within one month of launching the initiative, the group already holds more than 10% of the company — a significant minority and higher than the expected average. The Plus mission Plus is formed around a core mission to:  Ensure an inclusive and respectful environment for all employees Raise awareness of, and represent the views and issues of, LGBTQ+ employees Provide a support network for LGBTQ+ employees Create opportunities to socialize with other LGBTQ+ employees Offer confidential support when needed Provide guidance to Tessian as an employer on policy and how to enhance its diversity strategy What is Plus? Plus is an employee-led LGBTQ+ resource group for anybody identifying as LGBTQ+. The group operates as a “safe space” for all Tessian LGBTQ+ employees to network, socialize, and share experiences behind closed doors. With Plus, we’re proud to create a private community for employees to express their sexual orientation and gender identity. And, by building from the ground-up, we will form a vocal committee of LGBTQ+ employees who can advise Tessian’s leadership on policies+, diversity initiatives, and how to operate as a point of contact for employees experiencing homophobic, biphobic, or transphobic bullying and harassment. It’s important that these channels are private. Why? Because even though we enjoy a culture of general acceptance of LGBTQ+ professionals in the workforce both in the UK and US, keeping the community private and confidential ensures it’s a safe space – especially for those individuals who aren’t as comfortable wearing their identity on their sleeve. That’s why it’s essential that we always work to preserve peoples’ right to decide when it is right for them to publicly disclose their identity.

Why are we launching Plus now? Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the New York Stonewall Riots — a pivotal event in the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the US and worldwide — during which black and latinx trans women led days of riots against police in response to an unlawful police raid on The Stonewall Inn, a bar primarily serving the marginalized LGBTQ+ community in New York’s Greenwich Village. Globally – from the UK Gay Liberation Front, to the Lavender Menace, and to Black Power groups – Stonewall was a symbol of struggle against systemic oppression. In the months that followed, and frustrated with discrimination in the justice system and public harassment from police, LGBTQ+ figures and people of color led the frontline in protests that created an intersectional movement across activist groups that exists today in the form of The Stonewall Foundation. From the following June, in commemoration of Stonewall and for the continued fight for LGBTQ+ rights, a Christopher Street Day Parade was held to celebrate the LGBTQ+ figures and people of color who dedicated their lives to furthering the rights of humans worldwide. This has continued every year since and is why we celebrate Pride Month in June. Though we have made huge strides towards equality for LGBTQ+ communities in the last fifty years, particularly in the UK, with same-sex marriage equality and employment equality — for true equality to be eternally ours, we must use our privilege and right to protest to continue the tradition of Pride Month. This year, of course, is different than years before. Our remote “new normal” has presented a challenge to the typical vehicles for LGBTQ+ visibility. Pride floats are digital, and events are canceled, leaving people isolated from their usual support networks. We must therefore work harder than ever to bring the LGBTQ+ community together, around a core mission of inclusivity and family. So, this June – and as a proud Tessian LGBTQ+ community – we are coming together to celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ+ Tessians and support freedom of sexual orientation and gender expression worldwide and form the Plus employee resource group. We’re providing LGBTQ+ Tessians with a safe space to socialize, celebrating LGBTQ+ history, and sharing experiences within the LGBTQ+ community.

While organizations may have struggled initially to get their employees set-up to work securely outside of their normal office environment, by now, most have introduced new software, policies, and procedures to accommodate their new distributed teams.  Problem solved, right? Not quite. While 91% of IT leaders trust their employees to follow security best practice while out of the office, almost half (48%) of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working remotely and a further 52% say they feel as though they can get away with riskier behavior when working from home.   In our latest research report, The State of Data Loss Prevention 2020, we explore the reasons why.  Key findings include: 50% of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home because they’re not working on their usual devices. 48% of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home because they feel as though they’re not being watched by their IT teams. 47% of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home because they’re distracted. Read on to learn why this matters and what you can do to promote safer security practices in your organization.

Why is data loss prevention (DLP) harder when workforces are remote? 84% of IT leaders say that DLP is more challenging when employees are working remotely. It makes sense. One or two offices have become thousands of virtual offices which means maintaining visibility over data flow is more difficult than ever.  People are relying more heavily on email and other communication tools and are therefore sending data more frequently. Security and IT teams have limited control over how employees handle physical data (for example how they print, store, and dispose of documents). And there’s been a spike in inbound attacks like phishing since the outbreak of COVID-19.  This is to say that organizations are more vulnerable across email security, physical security, and network security. While there are tools to detect and prevent incidents, data loss prevention ultimately relies on people. After all, it’s people who control our systems and data. They’re the gatekeepers of an organization’s most sensitive information. But, despite IT leaders’ confidence and optimism (91% say they trust their employees to follow security best practice while out of the office), nearly half (48%) of employees say they’re less likely to.   !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); The question is: Why?

1. 50% of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home because they’re not working on their usual devices. Most of us have dedicated workstations in the office and have grown accustomed to certain equipment. Whether it’s multiple monitors, a desktop, a keyboard, a printer, or a trackpad, we’re comfortable working on our usual devices.  At home, not all of us are so lucky. And, while security and IT teams around the world have worked hard to get their teams set-up at home, there have been delays and even cancellations in global supply chains providing laptops, cell phones, and other technology.  What to do about it: If you’re unable to get your employees the equipment they need, you should consider BYOD policies. We’ve covered the benefits, potential security risks, and tips for employers and employees in this blog: Remote Worker’s Guide To: BYOD Policies.  You can also implement training sessions for new devices to ensure your employees feel comfortable using them. (Be sure to also train your employees on any new applications or software!) 2. 48% of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home because they feel as though they’re not being watched by their IT teams. While we can say with confidence that the average employee wants to do the right thing when it comes to security, it’s important to remember that first and foremost, they want to get their jobs done. And, if security policies, procedures, or software makes that difficult or prevents them from doing it all together, they’ll find a workaround.  In fact, 54% of employees say exactly that. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); In an office environment, it’s easier for IT and security teams to maintain visibility of employee behavior. They can see if someone isn’t locking their laptop. They can see if someone is using a USB stick when they shouldn’t. They can see if someone has skipped security training. But, IT and security teams aren’t just there to enforce rules. They’re also there to educate employees and build a strong security culture. That’s harder with distributed workforces.

What to do about it: Communicate, communicate, communicate. Whether it’s sharing information about new threats, reminding employees of security do’s and don’ts, or offering an individual or team kudos for secure behavior, you need to consistently remind your team not only that you’re there, but that you’re there to help. But, you shouldn’t over-communicate. That means you should ensure there’s one point of contact (or source of truth) who shares updates at a regular, defined time and cadence as opposed to different people sharing updates as and when they happen. 3. 47% of employees say they’re less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home because they’re distracted. We’re not just working from home. We’re working from home during a crisis. It’s essential that security and business leaders keep this in mind. While most of us are trying to conduct “business as usual”, most of us are also dealing with a range of challenges. Parents have suddenly taken on the roles of teachers. Living rooms have been turned into makeshift coworking spaces for partners and roommates. Employees are navigating mass lay-offs and furlough schemes. Current social and political unrest is triggering emotional stress and anxiety. The bottom line: There’s a lot going on.  That means people are more likely to make mistakes. They may send an email to the wrong person. They may misconfigure a firewall. They may make sensitive documents public instead of private on a Google Drive. While these are “small” mishaps, they can have big consequences. In fact, each of the above incidents has caused a data breach.   What to do about it: Start by being empathetic and compassionate. Take the mental wellbeing of your employees seriously and give them the tools, resources, and support they need to thrive. We’ve put together some tips in this blog: 3 Practical Ways to Support Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace. Beyond that, though, you have to implement solutions that prevent human error. Why? Because it’s simply not fair (or realistic) to rely on people to do the right thing 100% of the time.  Tessian does this across three solutions: Tessian Enforcer detects and prevents data exfiltration attempts Tessian Guardian detects and prevents misdirected emails Tessian Defender detects and prevents spear phishing attacks Curious how frequently these incidents are happening in your organization? Click here for a free threat report. How does Tessian support employees and security leaders working remotely? Tessian turns an organization’s email data into its best defense against inbound and outbound email security threats. Powered by machine learning, our Human Layer Security technology understands evolvong human behavior and relationships, enabling it to automatically detect and prevent anomalous and dangerous activity. 

Best of all: It works silently in the background across devices. That means employees can do their job without security getting in the way and they’re protected, wherever they work. Tessian bolsters training, reinforces policies and procedures, and enables employees to do their best work.  And, with Human Layer Security Intelligence, security, IT, and compliance leaders get clear visibility into employee behavior with visualized insights and automated threat intelligence. That means detecting and preventing human error is easier than ever and organizations can continuously lower the risks of misdirected emails, data exfiltration, and impersonation attacks.

To learn more about Tessian’s solutions, book a demo. And, for more insights around data loss on email (including the most and least effective solutions) read the report: The State of Data Loss Prevention 2020.

In case you missed it, Tessian hosted the world’s first Virtual Human Layer Security Summit on June 18. While the majority of presentations, panel discussions, and fireside chats were focused specifically on how the sudden transition from office to home impacts cybersecurity, a few speakers touched on the new world of work more broadly. One of those speakers was Stephane Kasriel, Former CEO of Upwork. For context, Upwork has maintained a hybrid remote-working structure across 500 cities for 20 years. It’s a part of the company’s DNA. The point? He’s in a better position than most to offer advice on how to adapt and overcome the challenges that come with distributed workforces. While you can watch his interview with Tessian Co-founder and CEO Tim Sadler below, we’ve summarized his top 7 tips. 

1. Lead with empathy. The Golden Rule. Above all else, Stephane recommends leaders treat others the way they want to be treated. While it may seem obvious, it’s an excellent reminder, especially now as our employees are grappling with so much fear, anxiety, and stress around the pandemic and other triggering social and political issues. Put yourself in their shoes and identify the tools, resources, and support they need to thrive. 

2. Err on the side of over-communication. Let’s face it, communicating is often easier in-person. That’s why it’s so important we over-communicate when working remotely.  How? Repeat yourself, touch base frequently over Zoom or Slack, share minutes post-meeting, schedule frequent catch-ups with people outside of your immediate team, and never assume people know what you’re thinking.  3. Take advantage of a global talent pool. One of the most compelling arguments in favor of remote-working is the diverse talent pool recruiters suddenly have access to. Whereas traditionally, we’re forced to employ people who live near offices or headquarters, remote-working structures allow organizations to find people who are truly passionate about their work and who are aligned with company values.  Importantly, this isn’t just a benefit for employers. It’s a huge bonus for employees, too. Many of us opt to live in major cities because, well, that’s where the jobs are. If given the choice, we’d forgo higher-than-average costs of living and relocate to work online and out of the office. Win-win! 4. Be considerate of time zones and working hours. Whether your entire team is based in the same region or you have employees dotted across continents, business and security leaders must be considerate of time zones and working hours.  We simply can’t expect people to be available and online 24 (or even 12!) hours a day, especially now when people are working hard to balance the needs of children, roommates, partners, and even parents.  That means switching from a very synchronous model where everybody’s online at the same time to something that’s more asynchronous. Take advantage of tools like Loom, encourage employees to use email, Slack, and other channels, and implement sign-off processes that are smooth, regardless of where and when people are working.  Looking for more collaboration tools? Check out this blog: 11 Tools to Help You Stay Secure and Productive While Working Remotely. 5. Measure success based on facts specific to your organization, not headline statistics. Most of us have read at least one headline around how employee productivity is lower when they’re working from home. If you ask Stephane, this simply isn’t true. At least not in Upwork’s case. “There is no data that shows that worker productivity goes down when people are working remotely. In fact, there’s tons of data that shows the opposite,” he said. Remote working doesn’t just improve productivity. It boosts retention. Stephane says that people who work remotely stay with the company twice as long as the people who are based in the HQ locale The bottom line: what works for some may not work for others, and vice versa. Measure success within your own organization to see what works for you and your people, not for everyone else. 6. Ask for, listen to, and document feedback. It takes a village to be successful and diverse opinions are needed for businesses to thrive.  Ask your employees how they feel about company culture, policies, procedures, and their workloads and heed their advice. While you may not be able to action all of their feedback, ensuring that they feel heard will help bolster a sense of community. At Tessian, we use Peakon to track and document employee satisfaction. What do you use? 7. Stay agile. The outbreak of COVID-19 has catapulted us into the future.

Adopt new technologies. Embrace new ways of working. Lean on peers and professional networks for advice.  Fortunately, there are plenty of trailblazers who have done some of the hard work for us. Upwork, of course, is one and they’ve put together an incredible content hub for business leaders with advice around building and managing remote teams.  Looking for more resources? Tessian has also created content hub with advice for security, IT, and compliance leaders. This includes information about BYOD policies, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and how to spot COVID-themed phishing attacks. Check it out!

Over the last two years, there’s been a 47% increase in the frequency of incidents involving Insider Threats. This includes malicious data exfiltration and accidental data loss. Why does this matter? Because these incidents cost organizations millions, are leading to breaches that expose sensitive customer, client, and company data, and are notoriously hard to prevent. In this article, we’ll explore how often these incidents (with different methods and motives)  are happening, the financial  impact these incidents have on larger organizations, and the effectiveness of different preventive measures.  But first: What is an Insider Threat?

If you’re looking for more background on Insider Threats, we have several resources you can read first: What is an Insider Threat? Insider Threat Definition, Examples, and Solutions Insider Threat Indicators: 11 Ways to Recognize an Insider Threat Insider Threats: Types and Real-World Examples You can also download an infographic with the key statistics from this article. Click here. How frequently are different Insider Threat incidents happening? As we’ve said, incidents involving Insider Threats have increased by 47% since 2018. But the frequency of incidents varies industry-by-industry. Which industries are the most affected overall? Verizon’s 2020 Breach Investigations Report offers a comprehensive overview of different incidents in different industries, with a focus on patterns, actions, and assets.  They found that: The Healthcare and Manufacturing industries experience the most incidents involving  employees misusing their access privileges The Public Sector and Healthcare suffer the most from lost or stolen assets  Healthcare and Finance see the most “miscellaneous errors” (for example misdirected emails !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");

Who’s the Insider? There are several different types of Insider Threats and the “who and why” behind these incidents can vary.  According to one study: Negligent Insiders are the most common and account for 62% of all incidents.  Negligent Insiders who have their credentials stolen account for 25% of all incidents Malicious Insiders are responsible for 14% of all incidents !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); Looking at Tessian’s own platform data, Negligent Insiders may be responsible for even more incidents than most expected. On average, 800 emails are sent to the wrong person every year in companies with 1,000 employees. This is 1.6x more than IT leaders estimate.  !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); Why did they do it? When it comes to the “why”, Insiders – specifically Malicious Insiders – are often motivated by money, a competitive edge, or revenge. But, according to one report, there is a range of reasons malicious Insiders act. Some just do it for fun.  !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); But, we don’t always know exactly “why”.  For example, Tessian’s own survey data shows that 45% of employees download, save, send, or otherwise exfiltrate work-related documents before leaving a job or after being dismissed.  While we may be able to infer that they’re taking spreadsheets, contracts, or other documents to impress a future or potential employer, we can’t know for certain.  It’s worth noting, though, that this number is highest in competitive industries like Financial Services and Business, Consulting, & Management, which supports our theory.  !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); How much do incidents involving Insider Threats cost?  The cost of Insider Threat incidents varies based on the type of incident, with incidents involving stolen credentials causing the most financial damage. But, across the board, the cost has been steadily rising. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); Likewise, there are regional differences in the cost of Insider Threats, with incidents in North America costing the most and almost twice as much as those in Asia-Pacific. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); But, overall, the average global cost has increased 31% over the last 2 years, from $8.76 million in 2018 to $11.45 in 2020 and the largest chunk goes towards containment, remediation, incident response, and investigation. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); But, what about prevention? How effective are preventative measures? As the frequency of Insider Threat incidents continues to increase, so does investment in cybersecurity. But, what solutions are available and which solutions do security, IT, and compliance leaders trust to detect and prevent data loss within their organizations? According to Tessian’s latest report, The State of Data Loss Prevention 2020, most rely on security awareness training, followed by following company policies/procedures, and machine learning/intelligent automation. But, incidents actually happen more frequently in organizations that offer training the most often and, while the majority of employees say they understand company policies and procedures, comprehension doesn’t help prevent malicious behavior. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); That’s why many organizations rely on rule-based solutions. But, those often fall short.  Not only are they admin-intensive for security teams, but they’re blunt instruments and often prevent employees from doing their jobs while also failing to prevent data loss from Insiders.  So, how can you detect incidents involving Insiders in order to prevent data loss and eliminate the cost of remediation? Machine learning. How does Tessian detect and prevent Insider Threats? Tessian turns an organization’s email data into its best defense against inbound and outbound email security threats. Powered by machine learning, our Human Layer Security technology understands human behavior and relationships, enabling it to automatically detect and prevent anomalous and dangerous activity. Tessian Enforcer detects and prevents data exfiltration attempts Tessian Guardian detects and prevents misdirected emails Tessian Defender detects and prevents spear phishing attacks Importantly, Tessian’s technology automatically updates its understanding of human behavior and evolving relationships through continuous analysis and learning of the organization’s email network. Oh, and it works silently in the background, meaning employees can do their jobs without security getting in the way.  Interested in learning more about how Tessian can help prevent Insider Threats in your organization? You can read some of our customer stories here or book a demo.

Tessian’s Virtual Human Layer Security Summit was an incredible success thanks to our partners, speakers, and – of course – all of those who attended. Over 1,000 security, IT, compliance, business, and HR professionals watched as we explored how business models have changed, what these changes mean for all of us, and what to expect over the next several months. If you weren’t able to tune into the Summit yesterday, don’t worry! You can watch the full video below or access it on-demand. We’ve summarized some of the key points into relevant and actionable advice. Share these with your co-workers, share them on social media, or bookmark this blog for yourself. Here’s what we learned at Tessian Virtual Human Layer Security Summit.

1. We must treat our employees with empathy and compassion.  While the event was focused on cybersecurity and tech, one of the most important takeaways from the day is about being human. The Summit kicked off with an important reminder from Bobby Ford, Vice President and Global CISO at Unilever: “We’re not just working from home, we’re working from home during a crisis.” While – yes – we’re all trying to conduct “business as usual”, all of us are dealing with unique challenges. Many parents have suddenly taken on the roles of teachers, and living rooms have been transformed into makeshift co-working spaces for partners and roommates. And this doesn’t even account for the emotional stress of a global pandemic and current social and political unrest.  There’s a lot to navigate, process, and overcome, and many of us are distracted, stressed, and anxious. And that’s okay. As leaders and as humans, we have to be empathetic and compassionate. We have to take the mental wellbeing of our employees seriously and give them the tools, resources, and support they need to thrive, wherever they’re working.

2. The secure thing to do should be the easiest thing to do.  Let’s face it. Security isn’t the average employee’s top priority. They just want to do their job. Over half (54%) of employees say they’ll find a workaround if security software or policies make it difficult or prevent them from doing their job.  That’s why it’s so important that we implement policies, procedures, and tech that’s frictionless.  Bobby put this into perspective with an example from his own life.  When you’re a parent helping your son or daughter learn how to walk, what do you do? Child-proof the house and get outta the way! That’s what we need to be doing as security leaders. Make sure the most secure path is the path of least resistance, whether that’s ensuring your employees have a secure way to print and dispose of documents or implementing flexible BYOD policies.  3. Detection and prevention alone aren’t enough.  We all work hard to detect and prevent both inbound and outbound threats. And, while even that isn’t always easy, that’s not our only job. We also have to have to maintain visibility of risks, manage teams that are often thinly stretched, move quickly from investigation to remediation, and communicate threats to executive teams.  Almost impossible, right? Not anymore.  Tessian’s Group Product Manager, Harry Wetherald and Product Marketing Manager, Shanthi Shambathkumar, announced some very exciting news during the Summit: the launch of Human Layer Security Intelligence. With HLS Intelligence, security leaders can now predict, prevent, and protect against threats with zero manual investigation. That means you can continuously and proactively downtrend risks in your organization. Want to learn more? We outline all the benefits of Human Layer Security Intelligence and explore use cases on our blog: Introducing Tessian Human Layer Security Intelligence. 4. Executive teams must invest in security now.  While cybersecurity has historically been a siloed department, it’s becoming more and more integrated with overall business functions. In fact, it can actually be a business enabler and a unique selling point for customers and prospects.  But, only if your organization is secure. And, as Clive Novis, Chief IT Risk Officer at Investec pointed out, it takes a village to ensure data is protected which means cybersecurity initiatives must get support from senior executives first. During the customer panel discussion, he said “The tone is set from the top in terms of the security culture. They help ensure not only that controls are effective, but that those controls are consistent across the globe.” Needless to say, this is more important now than ever. As we continue to adapt to new remote and hybrid working structures, many of us are introducing new policies and solutions and we need buy-in across departments for these policies and solutions to work. 5. Email is the #1 threat vector.  Over the last few months, we’ve heard a lot about the dangers of Zoombombing. But, we’ve heard even more about COVID-19 themed phishing attacks, Tax Day scams, and 2020 Census scams. (Jump to #7 for more information.) With that said, email is the threat vector most security and IT leaders are concerned about.

It makes sense. Over 124 billion business emails are sent and received every day and employees spend 40% of their time on email sharing memos, spreadsheets, invoices, and other sensitive information and unstructured data. It’s a gold mine. The bottom line: We need to be leveling up our DLP efforts on email. 6. Security incidents are happening up to 38x more than IT leaders currently estimate.  During the Summit, Tessian Co-founder and CEO Tim Sadler presented some of the key findings from our most recent report The State of Data Loss Prevention 2020. Our research reveals that data loss on email is a bigger problem than most realize, that remote-working brings new challenges around DLP, and that the solutions currently deemed most effective may actually be the least. While we addressed the frequency of misdirected emails and malicious data exfiltration, one of the most startling facts involves employees sending company data to personal email accounts.  At Tessian, we call these unauthorized emails, and according to our platform data, they’re being sent 27,500 times a year in organizations with 1,000 employees. Meanwhile, IT leaders estimate just 720 are sent. That’s a big difference and highlights the need for effective data loss prevention solutions.  Follow the links to learn more about how Tessian detects and prevents accidental data loss and data exfiltration attempts.  7. Phishing is still a big problem.  While phishing has always been a problem for organizations, we’ve seen a marked spike in incidents over the last few months. And it’s not just Tessian who has taken note. Elvis Chan, Supervisory Special Agent, National Security at the FBI has, too.  For him, phishing is the biggest risk.

What does this mean for you? Continue educating your employees about the risks associated with phishing and how to spot these attacks and ensure they’re protected with tech.  8. Security policies don’t stick unless they’re continuously reinforced.  We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again: The average employee doesn’t care about security as much as you do. They just want to do their job. That means we have to continuously reinforce security policies, especially now that workforces are distributed.  But, repetition isn’t enough.  We have to communicate in terms our employees understand. Angela Henry, Business Information Security Officer at Rand Merchant Bank, recommends educating employees on business data privacy best practice alongside consumer data privacy best practice. Share tips that are relevant to their personal lives. Offer advice on how to keep their children secure online. Prepare resources around how to stay safe on e-commerce sites. Not only does this help foster a positive security culture in the office, but it also helps employees stay safe and secure at home.  9. …And policies aren’t effective unless they’re bolstered by technology.  While educating employees about policies is a vital part of any security strategy, it isn’t enough to prevent inbound and outbound threats and subsequent data breaches.  After all, we’re only human. We break the rules, make mistakes, and can be easily tricked. In fact, 44% of breaches are caused by human error. Elvis summed it up nicely when he said, “Even if we’re at technology 5.0, we’re still at human being 1.0.”  So, what do we do? Garrett recommends bolstering training with technology to ensure that people aren’t the last line of defense, saying “My ultimate view is that user awareness training is fine but – in mathematical terms – it’s necessary but not sufficient. I think it needs to be used in conjunction with other tools.” 10. Security needs diversity to thrive.  Throughout the Human Layer Security Summit, we talked a lot about security pre- and post-pandemic. But, Merrit Baer, Principal Security Architect at Amazon Web Services pointed out something else we shouldn’t forget.

She’s right. Cybersecurity needs diversity to thrive.  This diversity isn’t limited to gender or ethnic diversity. The field is wide open for a range of educational and professional backgrounds, from psychology majors to business analysts and just about everything in between.  You can read more about the opportunities available in cybersecurity in our report Opportunity in Cybersecurity 2020. 11. Remote working isn’t temporary. According to a recent poll by 451 Research, 38% of businesses expect work-from-home strategies will continue post-pandemic. And, when you consider companies like Facebook have already announced they’re permanently embracing remote-work, we should expect more to follow. The point? We should equip our workforces to thrive at home and ensure that we’re maintaining a strong security culture company-wide while also supporting our employees mentally and emotionally. (See #1.)  12. …And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.  There are new and perennial challenges we must overcome in order to support a full-time remote workforce, but there are a number of benefits, too. Don’t take our word for it. Stephane Kasriel, Former CEO of Upwork – a company that has maintained a hybrid remote-working structure across 500 cities for nearly a decade – offered attendees of the Summit several reasons why this is something to look forward to, not dread.  To start, remote-working enables companies to find and work with the best talent, not just local talent. Beyond that, employees have more freedom to design their lives. They can more easily balance work and life, relocate as and when they need or want to, and create environments in which they can really thrive.  13. The Secret? Adapt, adopt, evolve. Repeat.  If there’s one thing that was made clear throughout every panel discussion, fireside chat, and interview, it’s that things have changed and will continue to change. The only way to succeed is to adapt and evolve. Adopt new technologies. Embrace new ways of working. Lean on peers and professional networks for advice.  In the spirit of change, we’ve put together a list of resources that will help you navigate security and business challenges of the present and future.  Security During Uncertainty: 6 Steps Security Leaders Can Take to Reduce Risk Cyber Culture in the Time of COVID COVID-19 and the Digital Pandemic Upwork Remote Work Resources COVID-19: Real-Life Examples of Phishing Emails 13 Cybersecurity Sins When Working Remotely Advice From Security Leaders for Security Leaders: How to Navigate New Remote-Working Challenges Remote-Worker’s Guide To: Preventing Data Loss 11 Tools to Help You Stay Secure and Productive While Working Remotely Did we miss anything? Feel free to email [email protected] with your key learnings.

Detecting and preventing Insider Threats isn’t easy. Why? Because unlike external bad actors, Insiders – whether a disgruntled employee, a distracted freelancer, or a rogue business partner – have legitimate access to systems and data. That means they’re in an ideal position to exfiltrate data. So, how do you spot one? To start, you have to know what an Insider threat is and understand the different methods and motives behind these data exfiltration attempts. What is an Insider Threat? We’ve covered this in detail in this article: What is an Insider Threat? Insider Threat Definition, Examples, and Solutions. But, to summarize:

Insider Threats can be malicious or the result of negligence.  Malicious Insiders knowingly and intentionally steal data and generally do so for one of three reasons: financial incentives, a competitive edge, or because they’re dissatisfied at work. Negligent Insiders are just your average employees who have made a mistake. For example, they could send an email to the wrong person, misconfigure a system, fall for a phishing email, or lose their work device.   How often do incidents involving Insider Threats happen? More often than you might think. In fact, there’s been a 47% increase in incidents over the last two years. We discuss seven recent examples in this blog: Insider Threats: Types and Real-World Examples.   While every incident is different, there are some tell-tale signs of an Insider Threat.  Insider Threat indicators: Malicious Insiders Malicious Insiders may act suspiciously well before they actually exfiltrate any data. For example: 1. Declining performance or other signs of dissatisfaction As we’ve said, one reason why Insiders exfiltrate data is that they’re dissatisfied at work. It could be because of a poor performance appraisal, because they were denied a promotion or raise, or because of a disagreement with a co-worker or manager.  Whatever the reason, 1 in 10 Insider Threats is motivated by a grudge. Look out for a consistent or sudden decline in performance or attitude and for employees who become angry or combative. Employees who are actively looking for other jobs should also be on your radar. While they could simply be moving on to a new opportunity, they may be inclined to steal data in order to impress or bribe a new or potential employer.  Don’t believe us? 45% of employees download, save, send, or otherwise exfiltrate work-related documents before leaving a job or after being dismissed. This number nearly doubles in highly competitive industries like Financial Services and Business, Consulting, & Management.  !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); 2. Unusual working hours While passion and enthusiasm are generally considered positive attributes when talking about an employee, these can occasionally be early signs of bad intent. For example, if an employee consistently volunteers for extra work, regularly works in the office late, comes in early, or attempts to perform work that’s outside of the scope of their normal duties, they could be trying to gain access to sensitive systems or data.  Then, of course, there are signs of the data exfiltration attempt itself. For example: 3. Large data transfers or downloads There are a number of ways to exfiltrate data, including email, Cloud Storage, USB sticks. In fact, 23% of insiders exfiltrate data via USBs and 24% exfiltrate data via laptops/tablets. Nevertheless email is the threat vector most IT leaders are concerned about. After all, it only takes one click to transfer dozens of files.  But, monitoring data movement is a challenge. How can you realistically monitor every email sent and received within your organization? With Tessian Human Layer Security Intelligence, it’s easy.  Security, IT, and compliance leaders can get detailed insights around employee behavior in a single click. No manual investigation required. 

4. Multiple failed logins (or other abnormal login activity) Whether it’s an employee trying to access networks or systems they don’t have access to or an employee with legitimate access logging in more frequently than usual, login activity can offer security teams clues about Malicious Insiders. Certainly the employee could simply be curious and may even be going above and beyond to get their job done, but these behaviors could also be indicative of nefarious intent and should be investigated.  5. Upgraded privileges or sharing access When someone is promoted or there’s some other shift in the structure of an organization, it makes sense that access to systems and data might change. But, what about when someone’s privileges or access are escalated without a clear reason why? It could be an administrator granting him or herself more privileged access or it could be a team effort. For example, an administrator could be bribed to upgrade another employee’s access. Both are signs of a Malicious Insider. Finally, there are signs that the Insider has successfully exfiltrated data or is still successfully exfiltrating data. For example: 6. Unexpected changes in financial circumstances 86% of breaches are financially motivated.  Whether it’s a list of customer email addresses being sold on the Dark Web or trade secrets being sold to a competitor, data is valuable currency. So, if you hear of or notice an employee suddenly and unexpectedly paying off debt or making expensive purchases, you may need to investigate the source of the additional income. It could be a sign that they’re profiting from company or customer data. 7. Consistent (and unusual) overseas travel Like many of the other indicators on this list, there could be a perfectly good reason why an employee travels overseas. He or she could be going on vacation, visiting friends or family, or may be traveling for work. But, as we’ve seen, it could also be a sign of corporate or foreign espionage. Case in point: A former engineer at a massive aerospace company frequently traveled to China, claiming he was lecturing. In reality, he was acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China and was selling trade secrets. This went on for nearly 30 years before he was caught and later convicted.  Insider Threat indicators: Negligent Insiders While certain behaviors exhibited by Malicious Insiders may set off alarm bells for security teams before exfiltration attempts occur, Negligent Insiders can be harder to preempt.  Nonetheless, there are four key things to look out for. 8. Failure to comply with basic security policies Whether it’s consistently using weak passwords, refusing to enable 2FA, or frequently downloading tools or software that haven’t been approved by security teams, an employee who disregards security policies could be more likely to accidentally exfiltrate data than one who consistently plays by the book.  That’s why reminding employees of existing policies and procedures is so important. 9. Low engagement in security awareness training Most employees (and even some security leaders!) would agree that security awareness training is “boring”. And, while that may be the case, training is absolutely essential. It could be training around how to spot a phish (see below) or training around new and existing compliance standards or data privacy laws. Employees who either don’t attend training at all or who perform poorly on assessments related to that training should be closely monitored and be re-targeted with tailored programs. You can read more about how to up-level your training and create a positive security culture here. 10. History of falling for phishing attacks Phishing and other social engineering attacks are designed for one of three reasons: to extract sensitive information or credentials, to install malware onto a network, or to initiate a wire transfer. If the attack is successful – meaning the target (an employee) falls for the scam – there could be serious consequences.  That means any employee who falls for a scam should be reminded of phishing tools and techniques and may need to be more closely monitored. 11. General carelessness or haste Accidents happen. Whether it’s firing off an email to the wrong person or accidentally leaving a computer unblocked, we all make mistakes. Nonetheless, they aren’t trivial and any employee who consistently makes mistakes will need to be reminded of security best practices and may, in some cases, need to be monitored with more stringent policies.  How can you detect and prevent Insider Threats?  When it comes to detecting and preventing Insider Threats, there are a number of solutions, including: Training Physical and Digital Monitoring  DLP tools and software  Importantly, all of these have a place in security strategies. Training should be used to reinforce existing policies, especially for those employees who consistently break the rules or make mistakes.  Security teams should be diligent in their physical and digital data monitoring and should always look out for the above warning signs. And DLP tools like rule-based solutions, endpoint scanning, firewalls, and anti-phishing software do, in some instances, help curb the problem of data loss. But, as we’ve said, incidents involving Insider Threats are on the rise which means security stacks are missing something. What they’re missing is protection for their people and at Tessian, we call it Human Layer Security. How does Tessian prevent Insider Threats? Tessian turns an organization’s email data into its best defense against inbound and outbound email security threats. Powered by machine learning, our Human Layer Security technology understands human behavior and relationships, enabling it to automatically detect and prevent anomalous and dangerous activity. Tessian Enforcer detects and prevents data exfiltration attempts Tessian Guardian detects and prevents misdirected emails Tessian Defender detects and prevents spear phishing attacks Importantly, Tessian’s technology automatically updates its understanding of human behavior and evolving relationships through continuous analysis and learning of the organization’s email network. Oh, and it works silently in the background, meaning employees can do their jobs without security getting in the way.  Interested in learning more about how Tessian can help prevent Insider Threats in your organization? You can read some of our customer stories here or book a demo.