Insider threats are rising—here’s why businesses must prioritise insider risk management in 2025.

You know that feeling when you accidentally send a wrong email to your colleague? We’ve all been there! I recently had my own awkward moment when I sent a wink emoji in a professional email that definitely should not have had one. While these small slip-ups might just cause momentary embarrassment, they highlight a much bigger concern: insider risk management.

Insiders – employees, vendors, or partners – open risks to organisations. Whether accidental or malicious misuse of sensitive information, insider incidents can result in financial losses, regulatory fines, intellectual property theft, or damage to a business’ reputation. Forrester’s recent Security Survey finds that 22% of data breaches are caused by internal incidents.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joanne Klein, CEO of NexNovus (the saying ‘don’t meet your hero’ is WRONG in this case!). Joanne really opened my eyes to just how crucial this topic has become. While my email faux pas might seem trivial, the real scope of insider risks is far more serious and potentially devastating for organizations.

The Digital Tsunami We’re Facing

Think about all the ways we share information in today’s workplace: emails with sensitive attachments, SharePoint and OneDrive document sharing, Teams chats containing personal information, and quick file transfers that might seem harmless in the moment.

Joanne explains, “As that digital footprint grows, so do the data risks that go along with that.” Microsoft reported that SharePoint and OneDrive alone see an additional 2 million files uploaded every minute. Yes, you read that right — every minute! It’s like trying to keep track of every grain of sand on a beach as additional truckloads of sand are being dumped in the same place.

What Exactly is Insider Risk Management?

Gartner defines insider risk management as tools and capabilities that measure, detect, and contain undesirable behavior of trusted accounts in the organization. It includes solutions that monitor the behavior of employees, service partners, and key suppliers working inside the organization. These tools then evaluate whether behavior falls within the expectations of the role and corporate risk tolerance.

Joanne adds that it is about “balancing the need to monitor activities while balancing user privacy and organizational risk.” We’re looking to find, mitigate, and, hopefully, stop altogether security threats from people within an organization to maintain an ethical working environment.

But here’s what I found particularly interesting, because it’s often missing by organizations: successful insider risk management isn’t just about implementing sophisticated tools — it’s about building trust with your employees.

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The Human Element: Trust Goes Both Ways

Employees can be a little uneasy with this type of monitoring solution, so the best practice is to be transparent about what the company is doing while ensuring proper privacy controls are in place. Modern tools use anonymization techniques so investigators or admins can assess risky activities without knowing who’s involved, also removing personal bias from the equation.

But it’s really a two-way street where companies should also expect their employees to meet the requirements to secure their data and information. One of the most common scenarios is a departing employee. There’s often confusion about who owns the content created during employment, and some folks might feel entitled to take their work with them by downloading confidential information and saving it in personal devices emailing out documents — it doesn’t quite work that way!

How Serious Can It Get?

In May 2023, Tesla’s massive data breach served as a wake-up call where two former employees leaked nearly 100 gigabytes of confidential documents. We’re talking about personal information of more than 75,000 people, customer files from 2015 to 2022, and production secrets. What are the consequences of this insider’s wrongdoing? They range from lawsuits to penalties that severely damage the brand’s confidence and its bottom line.

An organization’s data is really one of its most valuable assets, so protecting it and preventing its loss is a top priority. However, the challenge is the limited resources that companies have nowadays. Admins will not be able to detect, monitor, and take appropriate actions given the massive growth in the digital footprint. It’s like asking them to do more with less.

Chief information security officers (CISOs) and cybersecurity leaders emphasize the importance of an integrated approach combining preventive controls, human risk management, detection and investigation, and incident response. Policies, guidelines, and investigative work that are outside the bounds of a typical cybersecurity scope are components of insider risk management. Effectively mitigating insider risks requires collaboration among many cross-functional stakeholders — treating it more as a human problem rather than a technical issue.

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3 Recommendations for Intelligent Risk Management Solutions

1. Implement automated monitoring with privacy controls. Why? Because manual checking of audit logs is like trying to count raindrops in a storm. Automated tools can continuously assess data-related activities and adapt to changing conditions. For instance, when an employee submits their resignation, the system can automatically elevate their risk level and adjust monitoring accordingly. This saves your admins time while ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
2. Establish a comprehensive employee training program. The reasoning is simple: your employees are both your first and last line of defense. Start with thorough onboarding processes and implement regular attestations. Make data handling guidelines clear and part of your corporate culture. Joanne also pointed out, “Most employees definitely want to do the right thing,” so give them the tools and knowledge to do so. This isn’t just about rules — it’s about creating a culture of security awareness.
3. Create clear data classification systems. Here’s why these matters: not all data is created equal. You need to be able to distinguish between confidential information and general documentation. Implement a clear system for classifying documents and setting appropriate monitoring levels for each category. This helps prevent both accidental sharing of sensitive information and deliberate data exfiltration. Remembering Joanne’s point: “It’s really important to be able to discern what’s confidential versus what’s just benign.”

Key Takeaways

Insider risk management isn’t just an IT issue, it’s a business survival issue. While we can laugh about accidental emoji slip-ups, the real risks lurking in our digital interactions are no laughing matter. By implementing these recommendations, you’re not just protecting your organization’s data; you’re building a foundation of trust and security that benefits everyone.

Alyssa Blackburn is the Director of Records & Information Strategy  at AvePoint

As Australia continues to navigate the complexities of its growing public sector, the need for a more efficient, creative, and agile government has never been more urgent.

Australians adore the beach. What makes our country great—our laid-back, chilled lifestyle—is also the very thing that can hinder us. I have Australian friends overseas who felt compelled to leave the country in search of individuals who aspired to perfection. They reminisce about Australian workplaces and refer to them as the “80% nation”—as in, 80% effort is quite satisfactory, right?

The conversation surrounding public service reform is one that has sparked fierce debates – especially since Elon Musk’s DOGE started looking behind closed doors in Washington.

In Australia, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has vowed to slash “wasteful” government spending and reduce the size of the public service. But while cutting costs is important, it’s equally vital that efficiency is not pursued at the expense of creativity and long-term problem-solving. Australia’s future hinges on our ability to balance these priorities.

The idea of reducing the public service is not new. Over the past few decades, governments have made various attempts to streamline the bureaucracy, from Scott Morrison’s overhaul of government departments to Mathias Cormann’s calls for a more innovative and responsive Australian Public Service (APS). On paper, these ideas look attractive—especially when framed in terms of reducing administrative bloat and saving taxpayer money. However, the real question is: how do we ensure these cuts don’t stifle innovation?

Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton

Inflation and debt

Peter Dutton’s pledge to shrink the public service is grounded in his belief that it will drive productivity and help ease Australia’s economic challenges, including inflation and debt. His vision is to eliminate wasteful spending, a move that has garnered both support and backlash. Supporters argue that less bureaucracy means less inefficiency, while critics warn of the practical impacts—slower processing times for essential government services like pensions, healthcare, and other public support systems. Governments around the world world will be watching Elon Musk carefully to see how he manages to work through this.

Can technology help to create efficiency without losing the personal touch that many people require. After all, who in their right mind would touch base with the government unless they desperately needed to?

Dutton’s approach—focused on efficiency and cutting waste—can only go so far if it’s not balanced with an emphasis on creativity. Efficiency shouldn’t just mean reducing costs; it should also mean improving the ways we deliver services and fostering a culture of innovation within government. As seen in the private sector, cost-cutting initiatives must be paired with new ways of thinking—embracing technology, new workflows, and a willingness to challenge old assumptions.

I call it the take and give approach. If you take something away, you must replace it with something that’s better.

Jobs and funding

The pursuit of efficiency should not be confined to simply eliminating jobs or reducing funding for departments. Instead, we should be asking: How can the government operate more effectively while still maintaining a level of creativity that allows the government to respond to new challenges and opportunities?

Australia’s government could take inspiration from the success of creative industries, where disruption and the breaking of norms often lead to better products and outcomes. Why shouldn’t this same mentality be applied to public service? Creativity, when combined with efficiency, can transform the way we solve problems.

But creativity in government doesn’t just mean high-tech solutions. It also involves empowering public servants to think outside the box – and to attract people to the public service who think that way.. This requires a shift in culture: one that values not just speed and cost reduction, but also innovation and a commitment to long-term problem-solving.

The debate about public service reform is far from over. Peter Dutton’s call for reducing the public service size and cutting wasteful spending is a start—but it must be paired with a strategy for fostering creativity. As taxpayers, we must demand value for money, as we would if we were buying a new couch.

As we move forward, we must balance the need for efficiency with the need for bold, creative solutions to the challenges ahead. Only then can we ensure that Australia’s public service is not just lean, but also capable of adapting to a rapidly changing world.

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Donald Trump’s announcement of a blanket 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium imports into the US is a familiar playbook move – but one that could have disastrous consequences for Anthony Albanese.

As he did in his first term, Trump is using trade as a bargaining tool, throwing out headline-grabbing policies to bring key players to the negotiating table. Australia now finds itself facing a significant economic challenge, and the Albanese government must demonstrate it has the diplomatic and strategic skills to respond effectively. If you need evidence of this, look no further than the impact the trade announcement had on Australia’s share market in the hour after Trump spoke on Air Force One.

On paper, Australia should have a strong case for exemption. The US is our closest ally, with shared defence investments through AUKUS, and Australia maintains a trade balance that is favourable to the US. These are metrics Trump understands.

However, the ability of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government to engage successfully with the Trump administration remains untested. While Albanese has spoken with Trump once since his election victory, further high-level engagement is urgently required. Trade Minister Don Farrell, who has yet to establish dialogue with incoming US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, must act swiftly to ensure Australia is not caught in the crossfire of Trump’s aggressive trade policy.

It’s a delicate balance to get special treatment from Trump, without looking like we’re getting special treatment.

The economic implications of these tariffs extend beyond direct exports. While Australia’s steel and aluminium exports to the US are not large in dollar terms—$638 million and $439 million respectively in 2024—the global nature of these industries means the ripple effects could be significant. Reduced Chinese steel exports could impact Australia’s iron ore and coking coal industries, while Trump’s broader trade war tactics could disrupt global supply chains in unpredictable ways.

For companies like BlueScope, which has a strong US footprint and recently expanded its North Star steel mill in Ohio, there may be a silver lining.

The company’s shares rose following Trump’s announcement, and it is considering further expansion into the US market. However, for Australian manufacturers without US operations, such as Bisalloy Steel and South32, the tariffs could have severe consequences. The prospect of global steel manufacturers offloading excess supply into the Australian market could further squeeze margins and intensify competition.

Beyond the immediate economic impact, Trump’s protectionist stance represents a broader challenge for Australia.

The world is already shifting towards a more fragmented trading environment, with the European Union imposing carbon border tariffs and other nations prioritising domestic industries. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and emphasis on oil and gas production could further complicate Australia’s positioning in international markets.

The Albanese government faces a crucial test.

It must secure an exemption from these tariffs while also preparing for a world where global trade is increasingly driven by political whims rather than predictable rules. This will require skilled diplomacy, strategic economic planning, and a willingness to push back against protectionism.

Australia’s national interest lies in advocating for free and fair trade, ensuring that economic policies are not dictated by the political games of other nations.

And let’s not forget Australians are still extremely worried about how the Albanese government is managing the economy, with an election just months away.

Now is the time for decisive action.

Ahron Young is Ticker’s CEO and Managing Editor.