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Insights on Insider Threats and User Risks for Database Protection

Oct 02, 2009 •

Anthony Pell

1 min read

Topics Covered

data protection access control database security insider threat user risk

In all of their frenzy to protect sensitive data from hackers and thieves, many organizations overlook the most likely threat to their databases: authorized users. While today's headlines might be full of compromises and SQL injection attacks, most database leaks are still caused by end users who have legitimate access to the data, experts say. Yet, according to "Protecting Your Databases From Careless End Users," a new report published today by Dark Reading, many enterprises still don't do enough to protect data from accidental leaks or insider theft.

"It sometimes amazes me how little concern companies have for their production data," says James Koopman, owner of the database consultancy Pine Horse. "They allow nearly anyone to plug in shareware, freeware, and demo tools to access sensitive production data -- without any concern for how it might be retrieving, caching, or altering data."

The link for this article located at Dark Reading is no longer available.