Today the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and the Department of Defense’s Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE) published a risk mitigation guide to help organizations in the food industry understand insider risks, establish insider risk programs, and develop mitigation strategies. The “Insider Risk Mitigation Programs: Food and Agriculture Sector Implementation Guide” was developed in collaboration with federal partners and stakeholders, including the FDA.

The Fall edition of the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series will feature an episode on Food Defense Strategies | Register Now“Organizations in the food and agriculture sector play a critical role in protecting public health and safety, as well as U.S. economic and national security,” said NCSC Acting Director Michael Orlando in an NCSC press release. “This guidance is designed to help these entities create effective programs to deter, detect, and mitigate potential insider threats before they can cause harm.”

The guide includes links to federal resources in food and agriculture, and case studies concerning food adulteration, IP theft and active shooter incidents that were carried about by insiders. Any organization can be exposed by an insider threat, which is a person who has authorized access and uses it to commit harm to the organization. “Those with authorized access to facilities, personnel, or information can include employees, vendors, partners, suppliers, or others,” according to NCSC. “Most insider threats exhibit risky behavior prior to committing negative workplace events. If identified early, many insider threats can be mitigated before harm to the organization occurs.”

Insider threats can target food organizations through food adulteration, food fraud, theft and workplace violence.