Defining Internal Theft
“Internal theft” may be self-explanatory, however, the various types of internal theft deserve a proper definition.
- Data Theft / Skimming Fraud— the act of stealing information stored in files such as physical cabinets/rooms, servers, computers, and/or electronic devices. Oftentimes the goal of data theft is to collect credit card numbers, identity/personal, health records, and bank financial information. (These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.)
- Inventory Theft and/or Larceny — Ultimately this means the act of stealing personal property.
- It is important to note that there are really two types of inventory theft and/or larceny! According to the company CriminalDefenceLawyer, “Traditionally, states differentiated between two types of larceny: grand and petit (or petty) larceny. These two types of larceny crimes were based on the value of the property stolen, with grand theft applying when the property was more valuable than a specific dollar amount as identified by law.”
- Money Theft and/or Fraud— FindLaw defines money theft and fraud as, “Fraud and financial crimes are a form of theft/larceny that occur when a person or entity takes
- Payroll Theft — according to Accounting Tooles, “Payroll fraud is the theft of cash from a business via the payroll processing system. There are several ways in which employees can commit payroll fraud, as noted below. Among the more common types of payroll fraud are not paying back an advance, buddy punching, and time sheet padding.”
How Company Culture Affects Security
What exactly is Company Culture? According to Forbes (in an article published in 2021), “A company’s culture is important. But while there are undeniable effects of this concept, the idea itself is less clearly defined. However, the notion of “good” culture is traditionally understood as a company that experiences low staff turnover and high employee motivation (or productivity).”
However, according to this article (which discusses some really important points), in today’s hybrid work environments, along with the increasing number of employees, it can be difficult to actually cultivate company culture — thus leaving it unattainable. So in 2022, it is better to think of “company culture” as a mutual, agreeable action and vision composed of a distillation of ideas/values from the entire company’s employee base.
(Forbes provides a few steps to help complete this daunting task!)
How it affects security
Ultimately, a company culture in which employees do not feel a sense of connection can foster resentments towards the company, and/or complacency. When an employee harbors resentment, their not-so-good human-nature tendencies can rear their ugly heads, and then purposely attack and/or put the company at risk. As for complacency, this increases the chance of employees not noticing and/or reporting potential threats.
