Insider Threats and Job Loss: The Impact of Transition
One of the most significant impacts a new political administration can have on cybersecurity is the increase in insider threats, particularly as employees face job insecurity or the loss of their roles due to changes in leadership. When a new administration takes office, there is often restructuring within government agencies, leading to layoffs, job reassignments, or shifts in organizational priorities.
Employees who are suddenly faced with job insecurity or forced to leave their positions may be more inclined to engage in malicious activities. For example:
Job Loss and Insider Espionage: Those who feel mistreated or overlooked might attempt to damage their employer’s reputation or sell sensitive information to external actors in exchange for financial compensation. In some cases, disgruntled employees may also take intellectual property, trade secrets, or sensitive government data with them as they exit, either to sell it or to use it for personal gain.
Access to Sensitive Data: Employees who are nearing the end of their tenure may attempt to exploit their privileged access to confidential information before being locked out of systems or networks. The security protocols in place may not be sufficient to prevent data from being downloaded or copied during these transitions, especially if administrators are not vigilant in removing access during personnel changes.
Thus, an administration that oversees significant staff turnover must be particularly vigilant about monitoring access to critical data during such transitions to minimize the risk of internal threats.
Vulnerabilities Created by Asset Movement
In addition to insider threats, the movement of assets—whether it be physical assets like hardware or digital assets like software and data—during transitions in leadership presents a major cybersecurity risk. When a new administration comes in, there are often shifts in funding, personnel, and physical infrastructure. This can lead to vulnerabilities in multiple ways:
- Equipment Relocation: The movement of devices, servers, or other hardware between government facilities or departments may expose sensitive data if not properly secured during transit. Poor handling or inadequate encryption could allow cybercriminals to exploit these movements, gaining access to valuable information.
- Data Migration: As new political leadership takes over, data may need to be transferred to new systems, data centers, or cloud services. This process can introduce security gaps if not done carefully. Unpatched vulnerabilities in the new systems, misconfigurations during the transfer, or unauthorized access by employees or hackers can compromise sensitive information during this period of change.
- Supply Chain Risks: If new administrators make changes to the supply chain—either by engaging new contractors or changing service providers—there is a risk that the organization may inadvertently introduce weaknesses into its digital ecosystem. New vendors may not follow the same stringent security standards, which can leave the government susceptible to attacks that exploit these vulnerabilities.
Learn about the increased risk of social engineering vulnerabilities during transition periods in the first blog of this series: The Impacts of Administration Change on Cybersecurity.
The final part of our blog series will explore how a change in administration can impact data protection and access control practices within the government ecosystem.
