Insider Threat Leading to Data Breach

Insider Threat Leading to Data Breach

Scenario: Insider Compromising Sensitive Data

A multinational corporation detects unusual data access patterns, suggesting a potential insider threat. Instead of relying only on Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) or external attack TTPs, the security team applies the Pyramid of Adversary Profiling to analyze the adversary’s identity, motives, and execution methods, allowing for proactive mitigation.

Applying the Pyramid of Adversary Profiling

1️⃣ Who (Adversary Identity)

• An internal employee with privileged access to sensitive financial and intellectual property data.

• Behavioral analysis shows recent signs of dissatisfaction, including abrupt access requests beyond normal duties.

2️⃣ Why (Motivation & Intent)

• The insider is motivated by financial gain or revenge, intending to sell sensitive corporate data on the dark web.

• Alternatively, the adversary may be coerced by external threat actors to exfiltrate data.

3️⃣ What (Targeted Assets)

• The insider is attempting to extract customer data, trade secrets, and upcoming product designs.

• The primary focus is on file servers, cloud storage, and corporate email archives.

4️⃣ How (Execution Methods)

• The attacker abuses legitimate access privileges to copy data to external storage or personal cloud services.

• Stealth techniques such as slow data exfiltration over time are used to avoid triggering anomaly detection.

• The insider also attempts to disable security logs to cover their tracks.

5️⃣ When (Attack Timing)

• Activity spikes outside business hours, when security monitoring is less active.

• The adversary may time the breach before resignation or contract termination to avoid immediate suspicion.

How This Approach Strengthens Defense

✅ Early Behavioral Detection – Instead of waiting for IOC-based alerts, monitoring user behavior and privilege escalation helps detect anomalies early. ✅ Mitigating Insider Risk – Implementing role-based access control (RBAC), just-in-time access, and real-time user behavior analytics (UBA) limits data exposure. ✅ Understanding Long-Term Threats – The adversary’s motive and methods are analyzed, allowing security teams to predict and prevent similar incidents. ✅ Adaptive Security Controls – Unlike traditional Pyramid of Pain approaches that rely on external attacker tactics, this model focuses on internal adversaries, improving corporate cybersecurity resilience.