A contractor for Siemens has admitted to secretly inserting logic-bombs, code that crashes software, in company spreadsheets which were designed to disrupt functionality every few years. This was done without the knowledge of Siemens who would then call the contractor back to fix the issues. This case has taken over a decade to be successfully prosecuted and showcases the challenges of insiders across all industries.
Insider Threats are a difficult threat archetype to discover, interdict, and prosecute. Congrats to Siemens to finding this problem. Insiders, people that have some level of trust and access, represent an underestimated risk in our digital ecosystem. Every year, the security industry gets better at understanding the challenges, but we have such a long way to go.
Never underestimate the damage an insider can cause. Security programs must have specific predictive, preventative, detective, and response plans to address Insiders.
Link to full story: https://thehackernews.com/2019/07/siemens-logic-bomb.html