The Future of Insider Risk Management: Takeaways From Gartner® Market Guide

Insider risk has rapidly evolved from a niche concern to a top priority for security and risk management leaders. With rising incidents of intellectual property theft and employee-related breaches, organizations must shift from reactive security measures to a proactive, risk-based approach. The latest Gartner Market Guide for Insider Risk Management provides essential insights into this dynamic field, outlining the trends, challenges, and best practices security leaders need to know.

Understanding Insider Risk: A Growing Challenge

While external threats often dominate security discussions, insider risks are equally—if not more—pervasive. According to the 2025 Ponemon Cost of Insider Risks Global Report, most insider threats stem from human error or negligence, but malicious actors increasingly exploit these vulnerabilities for financial gain, data theft, and system sabotage. According to Gartner, insider threats can be classified as any one of three types of threat actors:

• Careless users – Someone who accidentally exposes sensitive and/or proprietary data (including errors and improper configurations). 
• Malicious insiders – Someone who intentionally sabotages or steals data for either personal or financial gain. 
• Compromised credentials – Credentials exploited by someone outside the organization for the purpose of data theft and/or sabotage.

With regulatory scrutiny intensifying, remote work expanding the attack surface, and financial and reputational risks escalating, organizations can no longer afford to treat insider risk as an afterthought.

Why Current Approaches Fall Short

Despite the importance of insider risk management, many organizations still rely on disjointed security controls and siloed teams. Gartner highlights several common pitfalls:

• Minimal cross-functional coordination – Insider risk management is a cross-functional activity, but many programs have minimal coordination among IT and cybersecurity leaders, legal, HR, finance and corporate (physical) security.
• Disparate controls introduce blind spots – Historically, insider risk was managed through a combination of basic monitoring tools, siloed data and manual processes. However, as the complexity and volume of insider threats have grown, organizations have recognized the need for more sophisticated and integrated solutions. This shift has led to the development of comprehensive insider risk management platforms that leverage advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect and mitigate threats in real-time.
• Overreliance on traditional monitoring tools – Insider threats are becoming more sophisticated, with attackers abusing authorized access to carry out malicious activities. This makes traditional security measures inadequate. Gartner report also noted that insider risk management use behaviour-based risk models that, “monitor the activities of employees, service partners and key suppliers to ensure their behaviour aligns with corporate policies and risk tolerance levels.” 

Building a Comprehensive Insider Risk Management Program

To combat these challenges, Gartner recommends a structured approach to insider risk management that includes:

1. Develop a formal insider risk program to increase visibility into risks from careless or malicious associates and partners.
2. Work in collaboration with cross-functional partners in appropriate areas, including legal, HR and privacy.
3. Implement a unified insider risk management framework that seamlessly integrates capabilities, policies and processes to ensure comprehensive threat mitigation.
4. Dedicate a portion of the budget and personnel to track the incorporation of AI-driven capabilities, and embark on proofs of concept (POCs) to gain first-mover advantage.

AI’s Emerging Role in Insider Risk Management

Gartner found that most organizations believe artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role in insider risk management, even though the market has not yet incorporated AI into the solutions. 

As the complexity and volume of insider threats has grown, organizations have recognized the need for more sophisticated and integrated solutions. According to Gartner, this shift has led to the development of comprehensive insider risk management platforms that leverage advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect and mitigate threats in real-time.

At DTEX, we know this to be true. Our investment in AI has turbocharged our customers’ ability to detect and deter risks at unprecedented speed and scale. In addition, they can automate response actions to minimize damage from insider threats and reduce alert fatigue by prioritizing high-risk behaviors. 

The Path Forward for Security Leaders

With insider threats becoming more sophisticated and costly, security leaders must take proactive steps to strengthen their insider risk programs. This means:

• Aligning security, legal, and HR teams to foster a culture of risk awareness and accountability.
• Investing in technology that moves beyond rule-based detection to behavior-based risk modeling.
• Prioritizing AI adoption and automation to enhance visibility and response capabilities.

The risks are real, and the stakes are high. Organizations that take insider risk seriously and implement a cohesive, AI-driven strategy will be better positioned to protect their data, reputation, and long-term business success.

For a deeper dive into these insights and recommendations, download the full Gartner Market Guide for Insider Risk Management today.

Gartner, Market Guide for Insider Risk Management Solutions, Brent Predovich, Deepti Gopal, 12 March 2025

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.