Did you know that over 60% of security breaches nowadays are not caused by external actors, but instead due to insider threats? In some cases it may not be due to malicious actors, but instead negligence from employees, or partners with access to your systems.

The good news is that nowadays there are several technologies that can help prevent insider threats. Which leads to the question at hand: Is employee monitoring one of them?

Ways that Employee Monitoring Can Prevent Insider Threats

Different employee monitoring tools have different features – so the extent to which it can prevent insider threats may vary. In the case of Controlio you’ll find it has fairly comprehensive monitoring capabilities that can track app usage, web history, downloads, files, printing tasks, emails, keystrokes, and more.

Because of that, there are several ways it can stop insider threats:

• Identify suspicious activity

Keeping tabs on what employees are up to will enable you to identify suspicious activity. The features in Controlio can be used to spot unusual behavior patterns such as heavy printing, file transfers to external devices, strange download activity, or the usage of certain keywords.

By identifying suspicious activity early, you can investigate further and intervene if necessary. The data Controlio gathers can help with that investigation, as its reports and analytics will let you compare and contrast activity levels to spot any anomalies.

• Block access to unwanted apps or websites

If you block employees from accessing apps or websites that are a potential risk, it can reduce the likelihood of a data breach. That is easy enough to do in Controlio as you can set up rules to block both apps and websites. Alternatively you can configure it so that it doesn’t outright block access but sends you an alert instead.

Although blocking access to apps and websites may seem restrictive, it can help in many cases. Try to make it a point to only block the absolute minimum number of apps or websites – and make sure your employees know why you’re doing so.

• Capture screenshots or recordings

Being able to capture screenshots or video recordings of your employees displays can let you quite literally ‘see’ what they’re doing. This can be very useful when you need to scrutinize employees further or maybe investigate some of their activities at a deeper level.

In Controlio you can not only capture screenshots and video recordings, but also synchronize it to certain actions. That way it can provide additional context, evidence, or give you the means to see in real time whether or not there is a threat present.

These are the main ways that employee monitoring can prevent insider threats. And while their ability to do so does hinge on what features are available – even the more basic monitoring tools can prevent it to some degree or other.

Conclusion

To sum it up – if you want to improve security and reduce the risk of insider threats, employee monitoring is definitely something that you should consider. Keep in mind that it does have benefits beyond just security, and can also be used to boost productivity, manage workflows, and much more.

Additionally it should be noted that if you truly want to protect your organization from insider threats then employee monitoring is just one of the methods that you should pursue. Make it a point to educate your employees on safe use of the internet, implement data access controls, and maybe even consider hiring a security expert to audit your current protocols and cybersecurity.

When it comes to security threats, the more proactive you are – the lower the risk will be.