Insider threat in life sciences

The mission critical information, assets and operations of life sciences organizations are coming under attack – from within. The historic perspective of addressing external threats is no longer enough. But dealing with threats from the inside, both intentional and unintentional actions from employees, contractors and third-parties, involves many new challenges such as privacy issues, cultural impacts, behavioral patterns and ways of working. Just knowing where to start is a challenge.

This report collected information from participants in Pharmaceuticals, Crop Science and Consumer Health areas. Respondents average over $30 billion annual revenue and over 65,000 employees. Our approach entailed interviewing senior executives about where they are in developing their Insider Threat programs. From this input, we have derived observations, trends and insights on leading practices in the area.

KPMG has defined a framework of the elements of an Insider Threat program. These elements include Program Governance, Protect, Detect, Respond and “Foundational” elements.  The results of this benchmark study will follow these framework areas.