No Dark Corners: A Different Answer to Insider Threats

Abstract

An adversary making a frontal attack can be anticipated or repulsed. An adversary attacking from within, however, cannot be so readily countered. This article presents findings of research that used a Delphi method to uncover flaws in traditional defenses against hostile insiders and point the way to new, counterintuitive defenses. The findings explain how infiltrators pose a greater threat than disgruntled insiders. Recommended defenses shape the contours of a No Dark Corners approach that applies and extends seminal theories of Newman's Defensible Space and Kelling's Fixing Broken Windows. No Dark Corners replaces a laser with a flashlight. The laser is a narrow beam of workplace monitoring only by corporate sentinels. The flashlight is a broader beam of employee engagement on the front lines, at the team level. There are no easy answers. No Dark Corners addresses gaps in traditional insider defenses to deliver the victory of ownership over surprise