What Is an Insider Threat? Why Secure Document Destruction Matters

When you hear the term “insider threat,” you might picture an employee intentionally stealing confidential information. But insider threats aren’t always malicious.

Sometimes sensitive information is compromised because of a simple mistake: a document left on a desk, confidential paperwork thrown into a regular trash bin, an old computer donated without properly removing its data, or records stored in an unsecured area.

Information doesn’t have to be hacked to be exposed. Sometimes it can simply be left behind.

What Is an Insider Threat?

An insider threat occurs when someone with authorized access to an organization’s information, systems, or facilities puts that information at risk. That person could be:

• A current employee
• A former employee
• A contractor or temporary worker
• A vendor or other authorized third party

The risk can be intentional or unintentional. An employee who deliberately takes customer information may create an insider threat, but so can someone who accidentally leaves a confidential report in a public area or disposes of sensitive paperwork in an unsecured trash can.

That’s why protecting sensitive information requires more than cybersecurity software. It requires looking at the entire information lifecycle—including how information is securely destroyed when it is no longer needed.

Learn more about Rover’s secure document shredding services.

Insider Threat Prevention Requires More Than Cybersecurity

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) takes a broad view of insider threat mitigation, emphasizing physical security, personnel awareness, and information protection—not just cybersecurity technology.

That broader approach matters because sensitive information doesn’t only exist inside computers and networks. Printed reports, personnel files, financial records, archived documents, retired computers, and other physical assets can also create risk if they aren’t properly secured or disposed of.

For organizations reviewing their insider threat practices during National Insider Threat Awareness Month, it’s worth looking at the entire information lifecycle—from creation and access to retention and secure destruction.

CISA’s Insider Threat Mitigation resources provide additional guidance for organizations looking to strengthen their insider threat prevention and mitigation programs.

Your Data Security Strategy Shouldn’t End at the Trash Can

Organizations invest heavily in protecting digital information:

• Firewalls
• Encryption
• Multi-factor authentication
• Endpoint protection
• Employee cybersecurity training

But what happens when that information is printed? Or when a file is no longer needed?

A document containing personally identifiable information, financial information, medical information, employee records, or proprietary business information doesn’t suddenly become harmless because your organization is finished using it. If the information is sensitive, the disposal process should be secure, too.

Putting confidential documents in a regular trash or recycling bin can create unnecessary exposure. Once discarded, those documents may be accessible to employees, cleaning crews, contractors, visitors, or others who can access the waste stream. Secure document destruction helps close that gap.

Common Examples of Information That May Need Secure Destruction

Almost every organization handles information that shouldn’t simply end up in the trash, including employee records, customer information, financial documents, healthcare records, contracts, internal reports, and other proprietary business information.

And sensitive information isn’t limited to paper. Retired computers, hard drives, phones, tablets, servers, and other electronic devices may contain data long after they’re taken out of service.

Insider Threats Aren’t Always About Bad Actors

Insider risk is often a process problem, too.

Consider an employee who has been told never to leave confidential information unattended—but there’s no convenient secure shredding bin nearby. Or an employee who knows sensitive documents shouldn’t go into the trash but doesn’t know what to do with a box of outdated files.

These aren’t necessarily bad employees. They’re gaps in the information-management process, and those gaps can create risk.

How Secure Document Destruction Helps Prevent Insider Threats

A strong information-security strategy considers what happens to information from the moment it is created until the moment it is no longer needed. That includes how information is stored, accessed, retained, and ultimately destroyed.

When records reach the end of their required retention period, they should be disposed of securely. That final step is easy to overlook. It shouldn’t be.

A professional document destruction program can help organizations establish a consistent, controlled process for disposing of confidential records. Instead of asking employees to decide what belongs in the trash, organizations can provide secure collection containers specifically designed for confidential materials.

Documents remain secured until scheduled destruction, and organizations can receive documentation of the destruction when appropriate. This creates a stronger chain of custody than simply placing sensitive paperwork in a recycling or trash bin.

When secure destruction is convenient and built into the workplace, employees are more likely to use the process correctly.

Don’t Wait for a Data Breach to Look at Your Disposal Practices

September is National Insider Threat Awareness Month, making it a good time to look beyond the traditional definition of insider threats.

Ask your organization:

• Where does our sensitive information live?
• Who has access to it?
• What happens when employees leave?
• Where do outdated documents go?
• How are retired computers and electronic devices handled?

You may have a strong cybersecurity program. But information security doesn’t end when a document leaves your desk. It ends when that information has been securely and appropriately disposed of.

Protect Your Information From Creation to Destruction

At Rover, we help organizations securely manage the end of the information lifecycle through secure document destruction, records management, and IT and electronics recycling.

Because protecting sensitive information isn’t just about keeping the wrong people out. It’s also about making sure sensitive information doesn’t end up in the wrong place.

Need help reviewing your organization’s secure destruction process? Contact Rover to learn how we can help.