Final answer:
The critical pathway model relates to how insider threats emerge, emphasizing the importance of insiders' knowledge of procedures and potential asymmetric risk from overlooked or misunderstood threats. Human factors like decision fatigue can increase susceptibility to threats, highlighting the need for careful planning and risk assessment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The critical pathway model demonstrates how potential insider threats can arise within an organization. By examining the insider-outsider model, we can see that those already working for a firm, the 'insiders,' possess knowledge about the procedures, giving them an advantage over 'outsiders' who are new or prospective hires. This understanding not only applies to employment dynamics but also to security risk management, where insiders might abuse their access to sensitive information.
Studies have shown that human factors, such as cognitive load and decision-making accuracy within an information security context, play a significant role in managing insider threats. For example, the research by Bruno & Abrahão demonstrates that an increased volume of decisions can lead to more false positives in security breach identification, which can relate to understanding insider threat behavior and the potential to overlook or incorrectly address genuine threats.
By incorporating the concept of asymmetric risk, organizations can better assess and plan for insider threats; because the consequences of such threats can be devastating, even if the probability seems low. This approach to risk aligns with the rationale behind purchasing insurance to mitigate low-probability events with high consequences. Planning and vigilance are key to mitigating the potential catastrophic impacts of insider threats.