On September 22nd, Canadian-based e-commerce company, Shopify, disclosed a security incident involving the breach of data belonging to almost 200 merchants (and their customers). According to the company’s investigation, two rogue members of their support team were engaged in a scheme to obtain customer transactional records of selected merchants. Shopify acknowledged that the hacked online stores may have exposed customer data, including emails, names, addresses, and order details. Shopify claims payment card numbers or other sensitive personal/financial information were not part of the incident. However, the investigation into the breach is still in its early phases and the full extent of exposed data therefore is not yet determined.
The Shopify hack is an unfortunate illustration of how cyber-attacks are conducted today. Rather than a hooded figure in the darkness penetrating a network, two of Shopify's own employees went rogue. With an enemy lurking within, the question becomes what measures can organizations take to minimize their exposure to insider threats?
Frequency and Costs of Insider Attacks on the Rise
Over the last two years, insider-related incidents increased by 47% according to the 2020 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report by the Ponemon Institute. At the same time, the average global cost of insider threats rose by 31% to $11.45 million. These numbers are quite concerning, especially when bearing in mind that they came at a time of global prosperity and growth. Today’s economic climate exacerbates these risks, as pending furloughs or pay cuts may tempt employees to exfiltrate data to secure a new job, make up for income losses, etc. That’s why most high-profile hacks this year were conducted for financial gain, rather than carried out by nation states or hacktivists.
An insider threat can be a ca ..
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