Modeling Insider Threat Types in Cyber Organizations

Insider threats can cause immense damage to organizations of different types, including government, corporate, and non-profit organizations. Being an insider, however, does not necessarily equate to being a threat. Effectively identifying valid threats, and assessing the type of threat an insider presents, remain difficult challenges. In this work, we propose a novel breakdown of eight insider threat types, identified by using three insider traits: predictability, susceptibility, and awareness. In addition to presenting this framework for insider threat types, we implement a computational model to demonstrate the viability of our framework with synthetic scenarios devised after reviewing real world insider threat case studies. The results yield useful insights into how further investigation might proceed to reveal how best to gauge predictability, susceptibility, and awareness, and precisely how they relate to the eight insider types.