How Hosting Providers Can Detect Insider Threats Before They Happen

[johny899]

Have you ever had the feeling that someone is doing something wrong on your server inside the team? That is an insider threat. The scary part is that they already have access. These people can be your employees, freelance contractors or some type of third-party partner. How do you find out before it is too late? Let's keep this simple.

Just Keep a Watchful Eye on People​

To identify bad activity, you need to know what normal looks like first. Watch user actions—logins, file changes, or who is making use of administrative access.

If you notice someone logging in at an odd time or someone logging in from another country that is a red flag.

You need to have logs that record:

• When and from where they log in
• What files or databases they go into
• Any command-line or root actions

Logs will give you patterns. When something is not right, you will notice it.

Let Smart Tools Assist You​

Manually reviewing logs takes a lot of time and can easily lead to mistakes. Use SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tools to review your logs and alert you if something seems suspect.

Some helpful SIEM tools include Wazuh, Splunk, or Graylog. All are effective tools that track possible connections, such as an employee copying data while also deleting logs or backups.

Do Not Grant Too Many Admin Rights​

One major error that people make is granting too many people administrator rights. As a guide, subscribe to the least necessary access rule... only grant individuals what is absolutely necessary to do their jobs.

That said, always make it a requirement to have 2FA (two-factor authentication) and change passwords often. A weak password such as "1234", or similar, makes an inside attack incredibly easy.

Create Trust with Your Colleagues, But Always Stay Alert​

Make it easy for people and coworkers to tell you if they see or hear something strange or unfriendly. You want your colleagues to feel comfortable and safe being open and honest about perceptions, while also corroborating any claims with concrete evidence or observations. Friendliness and awareness will assist in creating a calm but alert workplace, which will also make it more difficult for someone to misuse access.