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Introduction: Insider threats are a growing concern for businesses around the world. Whether it’s intentional fraud, theft, or unintentional security breaches, insiders—employees, contractors, or business partners—can cause significant damage. These risks highlight the importance of comprehensive background screening and continuous monitoring. Below are some real-life cases of insider threats that caused major harm to companies, and why preemptive measures like background screening are crucial for safeguarding businesses. These examples highlight various types of insider threats and how businesses responded:

1. Data Breach: Tesla (2023) – Several Tesla employees were involved in leaking personal identifiable information (PII) and production secrets to the media. The breach harmed Tesla’s reputation, especially regarding its Full Self-Driving features. Legal action was taken against the employees responsible for the breach

2. Data Theft: Yahoo (May 2022) – Qian Sang, a research scientist at Yahoo, stole 570,000 pages of intellectual property about the company’s AdLearn product after receiving a job offer from a competitor, The Trade Desk. Yahoo filed charges and issued a cease-and-desist letter

3. Sales Data Theft: Proofpoint (July 2021) – Samuel Boone, a former employee of cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, stole confidential sales enablement data before

joining a competitor. Proofpoint sued Boone for unlawfully sharing the

documents, citing long-term competitive harm

4. Phishing Attack: Twitter (July 2020) – Multiple Twitter employees were tricked by a phone-based phishing attack, allowing hackers to access internal tools and compromise 130 high-profile accounts, including Elon Musk and Barack Obama. The attack led to a Bitcoin scam, and Twitter faced criticism for its internal security lapses

5. Data Breach: Marriott (January 2020) – Two Marriott employees’ credentials were exploited, leading to a data breach that exposed the personal information of 5 million guests. Marriott was fined for failing to comply with GDPR

6. Sensitive Files Theft: General Electric (July 2022) – Jean Patrice Delia, an engineer at General Electric, stole 8,000 sensitive files over an eight-year period with the intent of starting a competing business. Delia was sentenced to up to 87 months in prison

7. 23 million Files Exposed: Pegasus Airlines (June 2022) – A negligent employee misconfigured a Cloud bucket, leaving 23 million files exposed, including flight crew data and passwords. The Turkish airline’s oversight allowed this security lapse to persist

8. Personal Users Data Theft: Cash App (April 2022) – A former employee of Cash App downloaded personal data of users and used it after leaving the company. The breach exposed a significant amount of sensitive customer information

9. Money Theft: Cox Communications (January 2024) – John Cox, a budget analyst, was charged with stealing $122,000 by issuing fraudulent checks from company accounts to himself. He attempted to cover his tracks by falsifying records. Cox pled guilty and was sentenced to prison, highlighting the risks of financial crimes from insiders in sensitive positions

12. Credit Card Fraud: Merriam Woods City (January 2024) – Breanna Gamble, a city clerk, embezzled over $68,000 by using city credit cards for personal purchases and buying a motorcycle. She falsified financial entries to conceal the theft. This case emphasizes the need for proper financial oversight in government organizations

13. Theft: Puerto Rican House of Representatives (January 2024) – María Charbonier, a legislator, was convicted of theft, bribery, and a kickback scheme. She inflated the salary of an assistant, who kicked back a portion of the inflated

amount. The case raised concerns about governance and integrity in public

institutions

14. Medicaid Fraud Scheme: New Hanover County (January 2024) – Felicia Jones, a social worker, was involved in a Medicaid fraud scheme where she stole patient data and collaborated with a mental health counselor to bill for services never provided. This highlights the vulnerability of the healthcare sector to insider-driven data theft

15. Theft: Four Winds Casino (March 2024) – Jesus Gaytan-Garcia convinced an employee to steal $700,000 from the casino. He was caught and charged with theft, demonstrating how insiders can be manipulated by external actors for financial fraud

16. Senior Employees Emails Leaks: Microsoft (January 2024) – In a high-profile incident, emails from Microsoft’s senior leadership were compromised by an insider working with a Russia-aligned group. This case illustrates how insiders can collaborate with external attackers to compromise sensitive information

17. Ransomware Attack: Change Healthcare (February 2024) – An insider contributed to a ransomware attack that affected Change Healthcare’s IT systems, causing major disruptions in the U.S. healthcare sector. The attack exposed medical data of millions of patients

18. Supply Chain Attack: SolarWinds (2020) – In a large-scale supply chain attack, hackers compromised SolarWinds’ software with the help of insiders, enabling widespread espionage activities across U.S. government agencies and corporations. The breach went undetected for months

Conclusion:

These cases emphasize the importance of robust internal monitoring and background screening to mitigate insider threats. Internal actors, whether negligent or malicious, can cause significant harm to organizations. Companies should invest in proper security protocols and employee access controls to prevent similar incidents.

Call to Action:

Protect your business from insider risks with Socalytix comprehensive background screening services. Contact us today to learn how we can help safeguard your company from potential insider threats.