A tremendous threat to an organization?s information security is from the external lone wolf hacker. These perceptions were created and reinforced during at the dawn of the information age when individuals like Robert Morris released his worm that effectively disabled the Internet and reinforced by the urban legend of hacker Kevin Mitnick . In these scenarios, external hackers will intentionally or unintentionally target an organization and cause it financial damage through a denial-of-service attack or outright theft of intellectual property.

However, the gravest threat to an organization?s information security is more often than not from an insider: a trusted employee or contractor. According to the Computer Emergency Response Team?s 2004 e-Crime Survey, 41% of security and law enforcement executives in organizations experiencing electronic crimes or intrusions last year suspected insider involvement in one or more attacks. Moreover, as part of the same survey, 32% said that insiders posed the greatest threat to information security.