Abstract

The Insider Threat Study (ITS), being conducted by the Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and CERT, is a central component of this multi-year collaboration. This effort was made possible, in part, through funding by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Science and Technology, which provided financial support for the study in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

The ITS focuses on the people who have access to such information systems and have perpetrated harm using them, and examines each incident from a behavioral and a technical perspective. The project combines the Secret Service’s expertise in behavioral and incident analysis with CERT’s technical expertise in network systems survivability and security.

The ITS is an extension of earlier studies conducted by both organizations. Previous Secret Service studies have focused on identifying information that is operationally relevant and could help prevent future violent or disruptive incidents. The goal of this earlier research was to find information that could help enhance threat assessment efforts – efforts to identify, assess, and manage the risk of harm an individual may pose, before the individual has an opportunity to engage in violent behavior.

Links

• SEI

Citation

Keeney, M., Kowalski, E., Cappelli, D., Moore, A., Shimeall, T., Rogers, S., 2005. Insider Threat Study: Computer System Sabotage in Critical Infrastructure Sectors. United States Secret Service, Software Engineering Institute.