What primary risk does an insider threat pose to an organization?

An insider threat primarily poses the risk of misuse of access and credentials by employees. This can occur when individuals within the organization, such as employees or contractors, have legitimate access to sensitive systems and information. Their insider knowledge enables them to exploit this access either intentionally or unintentionally, leading to potential data breaches, unauthorized data disclosures, or manipulation of critical systems.

Insider threats can arise from various motivations, including malicious intent, negligence, or even coercion. For example, a disgruntled employee may intentionally access confidential information to cause harm to the organization, or an employee might accidentally expose sensitive information due to lack of awareness or poor security practices.

In contrast, options that involve external threats or training inadequacies focus on different aspects of cybersecurity. External hacking attempts do not originate from within the organization and thus are not classified as insider threats. Likewise, natural disasters and inadequate training, while important concerns for cybersecurity and overall organizational risk management, do not effectively describe the direct risks associated with insiders who have been given trusted access and may misuse it.