Insider Threat
Simulation
Test whether your organization can detect and prevent malicious insiders, compromised employee accounts, and privilege abuse before they exfiltrate data or cause damage.
Insider threats account for 45% of data breaches and are among the hardest to detect. We simulate realistic insider scenarios to validate your monitoring, access controls, and incident response capabilities.
The insider threat reality
External attackers get the headlines, but insiders, malicious employees, compromised accounts, or negligent users cause massive damage because they already have access, know where valuable data lives, and understand how to avoid detection.
45%
of data breaches involve insiders (malicious or negligent)
$17.4M
average cost of an insider threat incident
81 days
median time to contain an insider threat incident
90%
of organizations feel vulnerable to insider attacks
What is insider threat simulation?
Insider threat simulation is a controlled security exercise where we act as a malicious insider with legitimate access to your systems. We attempt to exfiltrate data, abuse privileges, access sensitive systems, or cause non-harmful damage all while testing whether your monitoring, access controls, and security teams can detect and stop us.
Unlike penetration testing that focuses on breaking in from the outside, insider threat simulation assumes we're already inside with valid credentials. This tests a completely different set of controls, such as data loss prevention (DLP), user behavior analytics (UBA), privileged access management (PAM), and incident response to internal threats.
We simulate three primary insider threat types, malicious employees planning to steal data, compromised accounts being used by external attackers, and negligent users who inadvertently create security risks.
What we test
- → Data exfiltration detection
- → Privilege abuse monitoring
- → Access control effectiveness
- → Lateral movement from compromised accounts
- → DLP and monitoring tool effectiveness
- → Incident response to insider threats
- → Audit log completeness
Common scenarios
- → Disgruntled employee data theft
- → Compromised admin account
- → Employee recruited by competitors
- → Accidental data exposure
- → Contractor overstep
- → Departing employee IP theft
Insider threat scenarios we simulate
Each scenario tests different detection capabilities and mimics real-world insider threat patterns documented in breach reports.
01 — Scenario
Malicious Employee Data Exfiltration
Simulate an employee who has decided to steal company data before leaving for a competitor or selling information. We attempt to access, copy, and exfiltrate sensitive data (customer lists, financial records, intellectual property, source code) using methods that appear normal: cloud storage uploads, email forwarding, USB drives, screen captures, or encrypted file transfers.
Detection capabilities tested
- DLP (data loss prevention) effectiveness
- Unusual file access patterns detection
- Large data download alerts
- Cloud storage upload monitoring
- Email data leakage detection
Duration
2-3 weeks
Real-world reference
Uber 2016: Employee data breach exposed 57M user records; CISO convicted for cover-up
02 — Scenario
Compromised Privileged Account
Simulate an external attacker who has compromised a privileged account (IT admin, developer, DBA) through phishing or credential theft. With legitimate-looking credentials, we attempt lateral movement, privilege escalation, access to production systems, database dumps, and establishing persistence—all while looking like normal admin activity.
Detection capabilities tested
- Privileged access monitoring
- Unusual admin activity detection
- Off-hours access alerts
- Privileged session recording
- Abnormal command execution
- Production access from unusual locations
Duration
1-2 weeks
Real-world reference
SolarWinds SUNBURST (2020): Compromised privileged accounts enabled supply chain attack affecting 18,000+ organizations
03 — Scenario
IP Theft by Departing Employee
Simulate an employee who has accepted a job at a competitor and is systematically stealing intellectual property during their notice period. We access source code repositories, download proprietary documents, clone databases, and extract trade secrets—actions that might seem legitimate to someone 'wrapping up projects.'
Detection capabilities tested
- Repository cloning detection
- Mass document downloads
- Access pattern anomalies
- After-hours activity
- Attempts to copy production data
- Access to systems outside normal scope
Duration
2-3 weeks
Real-world reference
Waymo vs. Uber (2017): Engineer Anthony Levandowski downloaded 14,000+ confidential files before joining Uber
04 — Scenario
Third-Party Contractor Abuse
Simulate a contractor or vendor with limited legitimate access who attempts to exceed their authorization: accessing systems outside their scope, downloading customer data, installing backdoors for future access, or conducting reconnaissance for a future attack. Tests whether you can detect when trusted third parties overstep.
Detection capabilities tested
- Third-party access scope enforcement
- Unusual contractor activity
- Access outside contracted systems
- Tool installation attempts
- Data access beyond need-to-know
- Persistence mechanism detection
Duration
1-2 weeks
Real-world reference
Target breach (2013): HVAC contractor credentials compromised via phishing led to 40M credit cards stolen
05 — Scenario
Corporate Espionage / Recruited Insider
Simulate an employee who has been recruited by competitors, nation-states, or organized crime to steal specific information. Unlike opportunistic theft, this is targeted: accessing competitive intelligence, M&A information, product roadmaps, customer data, or financial projections. The insider operates carefully to avoid detection over weeks or months.
Detection capabilities tested
- Slow-and-steady data access patterns
- Targeted document access
- Unusual interest in competitive data
- M&A or strategic document access
- Financial data reconnaissance
- Multi-step exfiltration attempts
Duration
3-4 weeks
Real-world reference
GE turbine theft (2019): Engineer Xiaoqing Zheng stole proprietary turbine tech worth $1B+ using steganography for China
06 — Scenario
Negligent Insider / Shadow IT
Simulate well-meaning employees who create security risks through carelessness: using unapproved cloud services (Dropbox, personal Gmail) to share work files, falling for phishing attacks, misconfiguring systems, or ignoring security policies. Tests whether you detect risky behavior before it becomes a breach.
Detection capabilities tested
- Shadow IT detection (unapproved apps)
- Phishing simulation effectiveness
- Policy violation detection
- Insecure file sharing
- Personal device usage
- Misconfiguration detection
Duration
Ongoing monitoring
Real-world reference
Capital One (2019): Misconfigured AWS WAF by ex-employee Paige Thompson exposed 100M+ customer records
How insider threat simulation works
We conduct controlled, realistic simulations with clear objectives and safety boundaries. Your leadership knows, but your security operations team typically doesn't (to test real detection capabilities).
01
Initial Contact & Discovery
Intro conversation with the CISO and other leadership (and often with HR/legal) to align on objectives, confidentiality requirements, and any red lines before we orchestrate an insider simulation.
Deliverable: Mutual understanding of success criteria, constraints, and readiness for an insider exercise.
02
Scenario Selection & Authorization
We work with your CISO, legal, and HR teams to select realistic insider threat scenarios aligned with your risk profile. We define objectives (e.g., 'exfiltrate a single dummy customer database without detection'), establish off-limits systems, and create emergency protocols. Only 2-3 senior leaders are aware of the exercise.
Deliverable: Signed authorization with scenario description and safety controls
03
Credential & Access Provisioning
You provide us with credentials for a test account that matches the insider profile (regular employee, admin, contractor, etc.). This account has legitimate access appropriate to the scenario.
Deliverable: Test account credentials and access verification
04
Reconnaissance & Planning
Using the insider account, we explore what data is accessible, where sensitive information lives, what monitoring exists, and how to accomplish objectives without immediate detection. This mirrors how real insiders operate, careful reconnaissance before action.
Deliverable: Internal attack surface map and execution plan
05
Threat Activity Execution
We execute the insider threat scenario, attempting data exfiltration, privilege abuse, lateral movement, or other malicious activities in non-harmful way. We operate at realistic speeds, not rushing to test whether your monitoring detects suspicious patterns over time.
Deliverable: Activity logs showing each action taken with timestamps
06
Detection Testing
Throughout execution, we monitor whether your security team detects us, We document every detection event (or lack thereof) and your team's response actions to evaluate your detection and response capabilities.
Deliverable: Detection timeline showing what was/wasn't caught and response effectiveness evaluation
07
Escalation & Response
If detected, we test your incident response, How quickly do you contain the threat? If undetected after meeting objectives, we notify your team to begin post-incident analysis.
Deliverable: Incident response effectiveness evaluation and recommendations
08
Forensic Analysis
After exercise conclusion, we work with your security team to review logs, analyze detection gaps, identify missed indicators, and understand why certain activities went undetected. This is often the most valuable learning phase.
Deliverable: Forensic analysis report with missed detection opportunities
09
Reporting & Recommendations
We deliver a comprehensive report documenting the scenario, actions taken, what was detected vs. missed, response effectiveness, and detailed recommendations for improving insider threat detection and response capabilities.
Deliverable: Executive and technical reports with remediation roadmap
10
Debrief & Training
Full debrief with security team, IT leadership, and stakeholders. We walk through the timeline, discuss lessons learned, answer questions, and provide practical guidance for improving insider threat defenses.
Deliverable: Debrief session and Q&A
What you receive
Comprehensive documentation showing exactly what an insider could accomplish, what your security team detected, and how to improve insider threat defenses.
Executive Summary
- Scenario overview and objectives
- What the insider accomplished
- Detection and response timeline
- Business impact assessment
- Strategic recommendations
- Comparison to industry benchmarks
Technical Report
- Complete activity timeline with evidence
- Systems accessed and data viewed/exfiltrated
- Detection gap analysis
- Monitoring blind spots identified
- Alert analysis (what fired, what didn't)
- Technical remediation recommendations
Detection Effectiveness Analysis
- Which tools detected malicious activity
- Alert generation and investigation timeline
- False positive/negative analysis
- Log coverage assessment
- DLP, UBA, SIEM effectiveness
- Recommended detection improvements
Response Evaluation
- Incident response timeline
- Team communication effectiveness
- Containment actions taken
- Decision-making quality
- Playbook adherence
- Response procedure improvements
Who needs insider threat simulation?
This service is most valuable for organizations with sensitive data, mature security programs, and regulatory requirements. Not every organization is ready for this level of testing.
Good fit for insider threat simulation
- → You handle sensitive customer or financial data
- → You have privileged users (admins, DBAs, developers)
- → You're in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, defense)
- → You have DLP, UBA, or insider threat monitoring tools
- → You've had insider threat concerns or incidents
- → You employ contractors or third-party vendors
- → You're preparing for regulatory audits
- → You want to validate your SOC's insider detection capability
Consider penetration testing first if
- → You don't have dedicated security monitoring
- → You haven't done any security testing yet
- → You don't have logging or audit trails
- → Your priority is external vulnerability identification
- → You don't have privileged access management
- → Budget is limited (insider testing requires more resources)
- → Legal/HR aren't prepared for simulated insider scenarios
- → You need basic security validation first
Common questions about insider threat simulations
Still have questions about insider threat simulations? Schedule a discovery call
Test your insider threat defenses
Let's discuss realistic insider threat scenarios for your organization, coordinate with your legal and HR teams, and design an exercise that validates your ability to detect and respond to malicious insiders.
What you'll learn
- Which insider activities you can detect
- Detection tool effectiveness (DLP, UBA, SIEM)
- Response capability under realistic conditions
- Blind spots in monitoring and logging
- Roadmap for insider threat program improvement