16/05/2018
When employees steal proprietary information, they don't just cause headaches for the organization—they erode confidence in the trustworthiness of screened employees and vetted business partners. Following the recent spate of high-profile incidents—including leaks by U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in 2013, violent attacks on Fort Hood by Major Nidal Hasan in 2009, and Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis in 2013—the U.S. government determined that existing vetting processes and security standards for sensitive programs were inadequate. Key policy changes were implemented, including a new requirement for government organizations and certain government contractors to establish an insider threat program. The requirements changed the way government-affiliated organizations approached employee management and codified existing insider threat practices.
What does that mean for private sector organizations, even if they don't work with the government? Certain features of a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)-style insider threat program may be relatively easy to implement and offer considerable security enhancements. Traditional administrative and physical security practices—locked doors, alarm systems, and inventory controls—are focused externally and are largely ineffective at preventing employees and other authorized persons from committing harmful acts.
Integrating an insider threat policy with employee and event best practices can create a well-rounded employee management program that benefits workers and the organization. Educating employees on how to recognize and report potential insider threat information can also have a positive effect on the organization's culture and emphasize everyone's role in keeping a safe, secure work environment.
Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts applied scientific research and development for government and industry, faced this exact challenge upon the creation of a nuclear research facility.
With industrial space and laboratories in five states, and more than 25 percent of employees telecommuting, CTC's potential insider threat profile is typical among many technology companies in the United States. Protection of sensitive government programs, client information, and intellectual property is paramount to success in a highly competitive environment.
But the August 2017 establishment of CTC's Center for Advanced Nuclear Manufacturing (CANM) in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, created new insider threat challenges that CTC had to address. The CANM is designed to bring fabrication technology and materials expertise to the emerging next generation of commercial nuclear power plants and will conduct business only with private sector organizations that are working on small nuclear reactors. While CTC works with both industry and sensitive government programs—and must abide by federal insider threat policies—it wanted CANM to have a government-grade insider threat program that would defend against all kinds of manmade threats—from petty theft to intellectual property issues to event management.
A planned ribbon cutting and open house event at the CANM would place about 75 visitors in close proximity to CTC's intellectual property and advanced technology—and would serve as the first real test of the organization's new insider threat policy.
01 April 2018 by Ronald R. Newsom, CPP
Appears In April 2018 Print Issue
