The realm of cybersecurity has changed the way employees behave in the workplace. While it has been mostly good, there are some bad things that have followed. Expanding on that notion, it seems that there have been an increasing number of vectors in which disgruntled employees can harm, damage, or otherwise destroy a company within. This can be through a variety of ways ranging from espionage, to stealing trade secrets, to also destroying data.

Going more in depth, a disgruntled employee could potentially infect the business’s network with malware, such as a logic bomb that could be set off after their firing. A logic bomb is a type of malware that in order for it to initiate, a special set of conditions must be met first. For example, a certain date or time, a certain entry in one of their systems, or even after the firing of a certain employee. With that being said, cybersecurity has made it possible to defend against such threats. Though, it has also caused the networks to be more complex; ultimately, a mistake is more likely and therefore creates this possibility.

Logic bombs are not the only thing businesses should be concerned of. For example, espionage. A rival company could have spyware installed on their rival company and capture all of the data that otherwise should be kept secret, giving them the edge over them. This has been going on forever, but now it has gotten more and more sophisticated because of the advancement of cybersecurity systems.

With the high reliance on technology in today’s businesses, destroying company data has became more accessible for disgruntled employees, especially those who hold a high authority within the company they work for. With that being said, it is possible for the ones with the correct authority to access and destroy data that affects the bottom line of the company; that being profit. Cybersecurity has made it possible for those who wish to hurt their company through taking advantage of their knowledge and position of power.