How To Reduce Insider Threats (Without Impacting Efficiency)

While cybersecurity threats are often thought of as an external risk, insider threats are just as dangerous. You’re likely already managing a complex mix of tools, access points and remote workflows to keep your business running smoothly. The challenge is tightening controls without slowing your team members down or creating friction that leads to workarounds.

The good news is there are smart, targeted strategies that reduce risk while preserving the speed and flexibility your teams need. Below, members of Forbes Technology Council share practical approaches to defending against insider threats that work—from both security and productivity standpoints.

1. Define Roles Clearly And Enforce Zero-Trust Access

Defending against insider threats comes down to extreme clarity on insider roles and responsibilities. With that, you can apply a zero-trust strategy where each role has access to only what’s needed to be productive—no more. This least-privilege model mirrors complex biological systems and has proven highly effective. – TK Keanini, DNSFilter

2. Combine Just-In-Time Access With Real-Time Monitoring

One effective way to reduce insider threats without disrupting productivity is by using a just-in-time access model with behavioral analytics. Access is granted only when needed, and AI monitors for anomalies in real time. This minimizes risk while keeping workflows smooth and aligned with zero-trust principles. – Anuj Tyagi

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3. Leverage Collaboration Tools To Track Unusual Activity

Most companies leverage collaboration tools for development, such as GitHub, that natively track access and modifications. This is information that can be obtained at either a very low cost or free of charge with their subscription. Simple filters that look for unusual access, whether time-, personnel- or project-based, can be very useful for discovering attacks. – Matthew Areno, Rickert-Areno Engineering, LLC

4. Eliminate Standing Privileges And Monitor User Behavior

Implement strict least-privilege access with time-limited permissions tied to change management, eliminating standing privileges that create vulnerabilities. Then, consolidate system logs and deploy user behavior analytics to detect anomalies, enabling early identification of potential threats before they escalate. – Sandeep Gundapaneni

5. Customize Access And Monitoring For Each System

Control access and ensure proper monitoring on systems. For example, AWS controls access using identity and access management (IAM) policies and roles, and monitoring is done using CloudTrail logs and reports. Salesforce controls access using profiles and permission sets, and monitoring is done using event monitoring, audit trails and so on. Others might have different methods. It’s important to carefully evaluate how access control and monitoring are handled in each system. – Shikher Goel, JP Morgan

6. Establish Behavioral Baselines

One effective way to reduce insider threat risk without hurting productivity is by using behavioral monitoring to establish normal activity baselines for employees. When someone deviates significantly, like accessing sensitive files at odd hours or transferring unusual amounts of data, the activity is quietly flagged for review. This approach is low-friction and doesn’t disrupt work. – Fenil Suchak, OpenFunnel

7. Apply Microsegmentation

Microsegmentation reduces insider threats by blocking unauthorized east-west traffic. It prevents attackers or insiders from moving laterally across systems, limiting damage while allowing normal business operations to continue without disruption. – Scott Alldridge, IP Services

8. Engage Employees In Creating Data Governance Policies

Involve employees in shaping data governance policies. When they co-create the rules, they are more invested in upholding them. This builds a culture of shared responsibility where security becomes a team value, not just a compliance checkbox. You do not just reduce insider threats with this approach; rather, you grow internal advocates! – Satpreet Singh, Pinnacle Digital Advisors

9. Automate Risky Manual Processes

Human error is one of the leading causes of insider threats. Replacing unnecessary, risky manual processes with automation is essential for success today. It enhances accuracy and efficiency and strengthens security without sacrificing productivity. – Alex Ford, Encompass Corporation

10. Promote Leadership Accountability

Regularly assess access policies on critical systems and implement least-access policies. Make all leaders accountable for the data and access to that data. Continue working toward zero-touch systems. Implement preventive monitoring for all systems. These initiatives will reduce the risk of insider threats and also make the team more productive. – Vikas Agarwal, Citizens Financial Group

11. Adopt A ZSP Strategy

Because identity compromise is the preferred attack vector of cybercriminals, everyone is an insider—even attackers. To minimize insider threats, enterprises must implement a zero standing privilege (ZSP) strategy. Unlike least privilege, where access is determined by asking, “Might the user need this access at any time?” ZSP determines access by asking, “Does the user need this access right now?” – Atul Tulshibagwale, SGNL.ai

12. Automate Provisioning And Continuously Audit Access

Automated provisioning helps organizations reduce the risk of insider threats by managing and monitoring access that is granted during provisioning, retained during access reviews and restricted through emergency access controls. This is further strengthened by having visibility into sensitive access risks and segregation of duties. Continuous monitoring of user transactions helps mitigate this risk even more. – Piyush Pandey, Pathlock

13. Enforce Secrets Management In Development Workflows

Organizations can enforce secure application development practices, including proper secrets management for internal and external service accounts and periodic rotations. These practices can be implemented early in the development cycle using integrated development environments such as GitHub so that no secrets are pushed into production, which could result in risks and vulnerabilities. – Abhi Shimpi

14. Embed AI To Govern Data

Embedding AI into platforms like document management systems reduces insider threats by automating document security and governance. This means users can work naturally with built-in guardrails, avoiding the risks caused by exporting data to use with separate AI tools. There are no extra steps—just smarter, safer workflows that boost productivity without disruption. – Dan Hauck, NetDocuments

15. Balance A Culture Of Trust With Granular Access Policies

The most effective way to minimize insider threats is by creating a culture of trust and respect with strong, privacy-first data access controls. Instead of blanket restrictions, employers should create granular access policies, where employees only interact with the data required for their roles, and maintain logs with blockchain-level auditability. – Lisa Loud, Secret Network Foundation

16. Identify And Remove Orphaned Data

One effective way for organizations to reduce risk is to manage their orphaned data—data owned by inactive employees that still exists on an organization’s network. This type of data can pose security risks and unnecessary costs. If IT leaders identify and take action on orphaned data, whether by migrating, archiving or deleting it, they can lower risk while ensuring that only relevant data is actively used. – Carl D’Halluin, Datadobi

17. Rotate Responsibilities And Access Rights

Rotate sensitive responsibilities and access rights on a schedule. By periodically changing who has access to critical systems, especially for high-privilege roles, organizations can reduce the risk of any one person becoming a single point of failure. This approach builds accountability, prevents access complacency and allows early detection of irregularities, all while preserving trust. – Can Yildizli, PRODAFT

18. Maintain Ongoing Employee Education

Create a continuous learning system for employees to educate them on current and evolving cybersecurity threats. At our organization, we have monthly training on cybersecurity that all employees must complete from a compliance standpoint. – Shaz Khan, Vroozi