GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, Nd. -- Each year, during the month of September all government agencies, teams and departments observe National Insider Threat Awareness Month, or NITAM. The goal of this observance is for employes to be alert to the warning signs and report strange behavior that may indicate potential harm to them, others or their organization.
NITAM is a staple in the Department of Defense, reminding all government employees to fight complacency and keep our installations and resources safe from potential threats.
Properly identifying warnings of a possible insider threat is the key to practicing proper insider awareness. Potential indicators can include repeated policy violations, intrusive behavior, sudden personal difficulties such as financial difficulties and abrupt changes in an individual’s patterns, such as overall temperament or becoming uncharacteristically unreliable.
According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization that tracks data breaches, there have been as many as 9,044 public breaches since 2005 and more than 10 billion records were also involved in data breaches before 2019.
The consequences of data breaches can be incredibly severe, if hackers or terrorists were to gain access to personally identifiable information or classified government documents, the results could be catastrophic and threaten national security. These breaches can lead to situations like social security numbers and personal identities being stolen to national defense strategies being compromised.
It is the duty and responsibility of all Airmen and Guardians to be vigilant and report all suspicious behaviors that may present an insider threat or Operations Security threat.
The Office of Special Investigations states that no department is immune from insider threats, especially from trusted insiders and the need for counter insider efforts only increases each year.
To all Airmen and Guardians, practice your exceptional awareness not just during this month, but always on or off duty within and outside your organization and in public.
Concerning behaviors should be reported to your supervisors, security managers, information protection offices, commanders or OSI’s anonymous tip line in an effective and timely manner.
If you prefer to remain anonymous, Text “AFOSI” plus your tip information to 847411 (Tip411.)
OSI anonymous tip website: https://www.tipsubmit.com/WebTips.aspx?AgencyID=1111.
Learn more about NITAM from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s website: https://www.odni.gov/index.php/ncsc-features/2834-september-2021-is-national-insider-threat-awareness-month
Be aware, be alert, be vigilant.