April - 201919GOVERNMENT CIO OUTLOOKAn Unaddressed Threat to Critical Infrastructure and National Security: Insider Cyber Sabotagen the cybersecurity industry we are somewhat fickle--we shift our attention back and forth between insider and external threats based on recent events. In the 90's and early 2000's we focused on computer viruses as that was the predominant threat. From 2010-2014, our attention shifted to insider threats when Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden grabbed the headlines. In 2015 we pivoted back to external threats when ransomware became prevalent. In 2017, following WannaCry and NotPetya, we understandably are largely focusing on external cyber threats. However, beware that the pendulum is likely to shift back to insider threats. In addition, with the shifting recent external cyber-attacks from theft to sabotage, we should be prepared for the same shift in insider threats. Here are a few recent insider cyber sabotage cases in critical infrastructure companies or with potential impact to national security:In 2017, a former employee of a large aerospace company was arrested for trying to sell rogue credentials he had created for his company's satellite tracking system to a Mexican drug cartel for $2 million. The system is used by several U.S. government and military agencies for tracking their aircraft--including the Drug Enforcement Agency. In 2016, an employee of a large financial institution was sentenced to 21 months in prison after sabotaging the company's network, causing an outage in network and phone access to over 100 branches--90 percent of their branches across the U.S.In 2016, a large semiconductor manufacturer filed a lawsuit against a former employee who planted a time bomb in one of their systems that disrupted operations after he left the company.These are three recent insider cyber sabotage attacks targeted at critical infrastructure companies or national security. I spent 13 years researching insider threats at the CERT Insider Threat Dawn CappelliDawn Cappelli, VP of Global Security & Chief Information Security Officer, Rockwell Automation [NYSE:ROK]ByICXOINSIGHTS
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