What do we know about insider threats?

This report is a contribution to the literature on insider threats. The report treats openly available and relevant research. It emphasizes characteristics of social media and malicious actors’ different approaches of influencing their targets. The report also examines factors that can contribute in assessing persons’ suitability related to security. Here, individual personality traits are important. Another important area is security culture and security management, which include job satisfaction, security awareness and reporting of security-threatening behaviors or incidents. Moreover, the report reveals that there is a great need for national research on personnel security that considers Norwegian conditions. First, the research should investigate how influence operations in the digital space can increase insider activities. Second, the research should examine relevant factors in assessments of persons’ suitability related to security. Third, research on insider threats and security culture should include Norwegian cultural parameters, as national cultures and organizational cultures are often unique. Fourth, the research should further explore the possibility of applying existing knowledge and competence within management, organizational development and pedagogy in the context of security. The report recommends establishing personnel security as a sustainable research area in Norway, and continuously developing and updating this research. With the right approach, Norway can become a leading country in the field of personnel security research.