ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- In recognition of September being National Insider Threat Awareness Month, the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Information Protection team and the AEDC Insider Threat Liaisons are emphasizing the importance of insider threat issues for the complex and Department of Defense.
Insider threat incidents are committed by trusted insiders who have access to government information, facilities and resources. Such incidents come in the form of unauthorized disclosures of classified information and Controlled Unclassified Information, espionage, and violent hostile events.
“It is critical to raise awareness of the risks posed by insider threats, because recognizing the signs and taking early action can help to prevent these types of events before they can cause damage to the Department’s resources, personnel and facilities,” said AEDC Information Protection Security Manager Caleb Gott.
According to Gott and AEDC Information Protection Deputy Chief Sara Liner, both of whom serve as the AEDC Insider Threat Liaisons, one key aspect to prevention is to create a positive organizational culture that does not cause employees to feel disgruntled, which is common among insider threat actors. Another is to understand the signs that someone is on the critical pathway to becoming an insider threat.
To this end, AEDC Information Protection and the AEDC Insider Threat Liaisons are hosting events throughout the month to raise awareness during National Insider Threat Awareness Month.
An Insider Threat-themed information table will be set up in Hap’s Eatery at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of AEDC, during the week of Sept. 15-19. The table will have Insider Threat resources and case studies.
The AEDC Insider Threat Liaisons will also make themselves available for an in-person National Insider Threat Awareness Month briefing at the request of organizations.
Gott, who represented AEDC at the National Insider Threat Awareness Month Conference in Alexandria, Virginia, Aug. 18-19, said he will be “turning awareness into action” during an event at Arnold AFB scheduled for the week of Sept. 22-26.
“Timely reporting is critical to enable the Department to take actions to support employees who might be at risk of committing hostile acts and to protect the Department’s valuable resources, personnel and facilities using appropriate mitigation measures,” Liner said.
Anyone with information about a potential insider threat may report this by contacting the AEDC insider Threat Liaisons at AEDC.IP.C-InTWorkflow@us.af.mil.
For more information, visit the AEDC Insider Threat Program webpage at https://usaf.dps.mil/sites/21259/AEDC/SitePages/AEDC-Counter-Insider-Threat-Program.aspx or the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Insider Threat training page at https://www.cdse.edu/Training/Insider-Threat/.
“Together we can work to deter, detect and mitigate insider threats,” Gott said.