U.S. counter-spies launch campaign against 'insider' threats

by Mark Hosenball

Reuters

The office of the top U.S. counterintelligence official is launching a campaign to alert government employees, contractors and the general public to “serious risks” of security breaches or violence posed by “insiders.”

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center, a branch of the Office of Director of National Intelligence, said that in partnership with spy and law enforcement agencies, it was declaring September “National Insider Threat Awareness Month” as part of an effort to educate both government and private sectors on how to spot and report potential data security and violent behavior threats to appropriate authorities.

“All organizations are vulnerable to insider threats from employees who may use their authorized access to facilities, personnel or information to harm their organizations - intentionally or unintentionally,” said William Evanina, a former FBI and CIA official who heads the counterintelligence center.

“The harm can range from negligence, such as failing to secure data or clicking on a spear-phishing link, to malicious activities like theft, sabotage, espionage, unauthorized disclosure of classified information or even violence,” Evanina said.