Alerts are fundamentally important tools in security operations. They deliver important information to you and your team about events happening within your network and can help prevent major breaches from developing out of seemingly minor occurrences. However, alerts can also overwhelm your team, making it very hard to cut through the noise and find the real threats that need to be acted upon. Alert fatigue is the term we use to describe this state of mind within an insider risk management team. Here are some of the ways alert fatigue can undermine your efforts to secure your sensitive data from insider threats.
Inability to Filter Alerts
Security triage is an important concept that allows security teams to assign levels of risk to various situations and deal with them accordingly. However, many of the security tools being used in the digital space today are tough to fine-tune in keeping with this tactic. The end result is that many security teams end up receiving many more alerts than they really need, and this can also bury real threats within a digital pile of false positives.
Little or No Contextualization of Alerts
When an alert is sent out to your team, often there is little or no context to give that alert more meaning. Basic questions such as who, what, when, how, and why are very important here and the answers could mean the difference between a false positive and a meaningful threat to your network. The frustrating aspect is that time spent by your team to chase down the answers to these questions could be better spent on other, more strategic elements of your program.
Not Knowing When to Escalate Alerts
Alert fatigue can also make it more difficult for your team to recognize when an alert should be escalated within your program. This problem is related to both of the ideas previously mentioned – too many alerts, combined with not enough information to contextualize those alerts, makes the actual implementation of effective countermeasures a real challenge.
The Solution: ITMG
How do you cut through the noise and avoid the issues that come with alert fatigue? Contact the professionals at ITMG! Our team has built up and strengthened insider risk management programs for Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, and much more. We can use our expertise to help you develop the tools and tactics necessary to fine-tune your alert system and provide actionable insights to strengthen your active responses to developing threats.
Contact ITMG to Assess Your Current Capabilities and Develop Strategies and Protocols Designed to Help Your Company Mitigate Your Insider Risk
ITMG is an industry leader in helping organizations throughout the United States strengthen their insider risk management programs and secure sensitive data and intellectual property. Our team of bona fide experts has the real-world experience necessary to plan out and create holistic security solutions tailored to the special needs and risks in your industry. Contact ITMG today to learn more about how we can help! You can also visit our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages for more updates and insights into the world of insider risk management.
