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Author: Jordan Richard Schoenherr, Assistant Professor, Psychology, Concordia University
The Capitol riots gave a shock to Trump's raid on his Mar-a-Lago mansion by the Jan. 6 Commission and the FBI has only rekindled those concerns.
After the January 6, 2021 disinformation campaign and endorsement by elected officials, fewer Americans condemned Donald Trump and many of his supporters believe the event reflected peaceful protests, or the mob was led by "leftists".
The divisive views on the Jan. 6 mob show how complex the problem of identifying who is an "insider" and the specific issue of threats.
And the matter he is more serious than one incident. Concerns are growing in the United States that insiders are threatening the integrity of the electoral process. The National Association of Secretaries of State has identified a number of insider threats that include behavior ranging from unauthorized access to voting machines to failure to authenticate counting.
But what is the insider threat? Insider threats are becoming more and more of a concern, but it's not clear that we understand them.
Insider definition and detection
Who is an insider? An "insider" is determined not only by how we see ourselves, but also by how others see us. and consider themselves part of the group or an outsider.
We also perceive others based on stereotypes and have expectations about how others feel, think and act. Despite the many social categories and dimensions available, humans tend to parse the social world into her two halves: ingroup members and outgroup members.
When we discover that someone is in our group, we tend to want to work with them, sharing financial and material resources, as well as symbolic resources such as identities. Sharing resources with insiders makes us vulnerable to their exploitation. This is the primary source of perceived threats.
What constitutes a threat. When placed in a group, they tend to reject anyone who deviates from their perceived norms. However, there are cross-cultural differences as to whether conformity is considered necessary or desirable.
What constitutes a threat also depends on organizational or group norms. If values differ based on political orientation, group members with different values may see others as a threat.
How do you detect insider threats? If the assumption that insider behavior supports our expectations is the starting point, then a common means of identifying potential insider threats is to look for anomalies. Anomaly detection approaches represent a broad framework that seeks to identify employees who deviate from typical behavior, such as the physical and information assets they access.
Instead of focusing on the violation itself, we need to consider people's motives. Acting in the public interest (like a whistleblower) is fundamentally different from acting in personal interest (like a leaker). We also have to recognize that human beings have no intentions and omissions can occur through negligence. To further complicate matters, people have conflicting feelings and divided loyalties.
Capitol Riots
The January 6th U.S. Capitol Riots underscored the difficulty of identifying insider threats. is showing.
Although rioters can be characterized as "deviant", the Chicago Project on Security and Threats conducted a comparative analysis of the available information on 193 people charged with arrested by the FBI). between 2015 and 2020). Those arrested were found to be more representative of the "average" citizen.
A similar point can be made about 'yellow vest' protesters and the so-called 'freedom convoy'.
When people interpret these events, they may focus on progressive divisions in society fueled by foreign interference. However, this ignores the underlying cause of splitting available.
Threat Response
Before we can develop detection measures that effectively counter insider threats, we need to understand what motivates insiders. Treating everyone as a potential insider threat or traitor can help the very problem you are trying to solve.
Measures like employee monitoring programs work, but they need to be transparent and participatory. These measures must be commensurate with the threat, appropriate in scope, and account for cultural differences in privacy norms and surveillance. Surveillance can foster employee mistrust and consumer concerns, as Amazon recently discovered.
Any method purported to identify malicious insiders must be ethically designed to avoid discrimination by employees. Even if an organization adopts the "safer than sorry" approach of pervasive oversight, it must consider the social and legal implications associated with relying on decisions made by automated systems. Responsibility and accountability ultimately rests with the developers, distributors, and adopters of these methods.
There is no single metric that can help identify threats to organizations and societies, especially societies that are less adaptable. There are many possible motives, so understanding these motives and distinguishing between intentional and unintentional threats is the first step.
Greater efforts are needed to identify and address the underlying issues that are contributing to poor cohesion within groups. Organizations and social institutions need to be more responsive to the needs of their employees and citizens. This includes critical reflection on the accuracy of information online and fostering empathy for restorative justice.
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Jordan Richard Schoenherr does not work for, consult with, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that benefits from this article . academic appointment.
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