In many cases, the only thing preventing insiders from exploiting their privileged access and knowledge is the perception that their interests and the organization's are aligned. If delivering a project on time or making a customer happy is in the insiders' best interests, they will likely contribute and work toward a common goal. However, when individual and corporate goals aren't clearly aligned, some segment of the workforce will have no qualms about passively or actively pursuing their own interests at their employer's cost. Their knowledge of and access to the organization pose a substantial threat--probably greater than external threats.

This is just another incarnation of what the security community has long called insider threats. This article discusses employees' motivations for threatening their organizations and what organizations can do to prevent such actions.