You're considering outsourcing IT services. How do you handle the risk of insider threats effectively?

One thing that’s often overlooked in managing insider threats during IT outsourcing is aligning incentives early, not just enforcing controls. I’ve seen the game change when contracts include security KPIs and accountability clauses that tie back to performance bonuses or penalties. It shifts the mindset from reactive to proactive. Pair that with a zero-trust access model, role-based, time-boxed, and monitored, and you create a setup where even trusted insiders can’t go beyond their lane without raising a flag.

Most risk management or cyber programs seperate BIA from risk assessment. A BIA (Business Impact Assessment) typically comes before a risk assessment as you step back and inquire about the business, key data and data flows, systems, keys assets. How do they make money, what information is exchanged, how do they add value. risk assessment gets more quantitative of what could go wrong (impact x likelihood). Then you can start to prioritize efforts on the most pressing risks. This is a great mental exercise for any organization. The service provider should be helping ask probing questions and helping provide the mental model of WHY its important, value creation, and resilience gained.

If you’re outsourcing IT services, it’s really important to stay on top of insider threat risks. The best way is to start with a proper risk assessment — think about things like data leaks, misuse of access, or even accidental mistakes. Then look at how likely these risks are and what impact they’d have. Make sure your supplier has solid security practices in place, and back that up with technical controls, clear contracts, and good processes on your side too. Keep an eye on things regularly, review who has access, and have a plan ready in case something goes wrong. It’s also worth following standards like ISO 27036 to help cover your bases.

Outsourcing IT is like handing over your house keys—you gain convenience, but trust becomes critical. To manage insider threats, start with strong contracts that include clear security protocols. Vet vendors thoroughly—look beyond cost to check their track record. Give access based on roles, not trust. Use monitoring tools to track activity and set alerts for anything unusual. Keep communication open and hold regular audits. Most importantly, treat your outsourcing partner as part of your team—with accountability. When security is built into the relationship, trust becomes safer.

- Conduct thorough due diligence on vendors, establish clear security responsibilities and penalties in contracts, and maintain the right to audit their security practices. - Implement the principle of least privilege, enforce strong authentication (MFA), encrypt data in transit and at rest, and utilize DLP tools to prevent unauthorized data exfiltration. - Implement user activity monitoring and SIEM, conduct regular security audits, and develop a joint incident response plan with the vendor, including regular testing.

Look at the history and credentials of the key leaders on the outsourced team. Read their articles and podcasts. Verify out of band as you dont want references that might give you adverse selection.

It's important to distinguish between IT outsourcing vendors and true staff augmentation providers. You need to identify which one is genuinely addressing your needs. In many cases, an IT outsourcing company simply supplies a resource and leaves the rest up to you. In contrast, a true staff augmentation partner understands the value of the relationship. Their service goes beyond just delivering talent...They focus on outcomes, provide regular feedback, ensure effective communication, and work to enhance performance.

Ask AI to review the contract. They do a shockingly thorough and nominal job. Think of a the average of experts that are looking at your contract.

There are plenty of MDA and SOW online, you can compare the one from the provider with them using ChatGPT. That analysis can help you be covered.

There is no reason for an outsourced provider to have full access unless that are an IT administrator. If advising on cybersecurity, the access, if any, should be limited.

Track user actions, such as file downloads, print activities, and search queries, to identify unusual behavior. Use AI-driven tools to detect anomalies in user behavior, such as accessing restricted areas or unusual login times.

I fully agree that tracking every action on laptops and servers is essential, and there are effective tools available to capture detailed activity logs. However, one critical area that is often overlooked is the use of shared credentials or Logging in using service accounts for interactive logins poses a significant security risk and should be explicitly prohibited. Enforcing strong identity and access management practices is vital to maintaining a secure and trustworthy environment. Additionally, leveraging AI/ML to analyze logs and trigger alerts should be part of an ongoing monitoring process. This approach should be clearly documented within contractual agreements to ensure transparency.

We run RaftLabs, so we are on the other side of this. To handle insider threats - we follow strict access control. Only need-to-know. Audit logs on everything. MFA always on. No shared creds, ever. Clients trust us with real data. We treat it like our own.