ISF Podcast S36 Ep17: Tom Hardin - The Insider Threat Playbook: Reducing Risky Behaviour Before It Starts
Jan 27, 2026
18:26
In today’s episode, Steve sits down with Tom Hardin, aka Tipperx — best known for helping expose a massive Wall Street insider trading ring. Steve and Tom discuss early warning signs that an organization might be crossing ethical or legal lines, how to build an organizational culture that promotes openness and protects from insider threats, and how to get employees to buy into things like good cyber hygiene.
Key Takeaways:
- The most underappreciated leadership skill is listening.
- Compliance must never be an afterthought or just a check-box exercise.
- Anybody has the potential to become an insider threat.
Tune in to hear more about:
- The fraud triangle (4:10)
- How cybersecurity leaders can build a culture that discourages insider risk (7:12)
- Striking a balance between trust and control (15:12)
Standout Quotes:
- “But you don't get people to speak up by telling them to speak up. You actually have to, if you're gonna tell them to do that, you have to listen up. So I always encourage leadership to work on their listening skills.” - Tom Hardin
- “If you have a rule that a few people break, you have a people problem. If you have a rule that a lot of people are breaking, you have a rule problem.” - Tom Hardin
- “You could be one decision away. Never feel like it couldn't be you. Just have a healthy paranoia when you're in situations and not to feel like that could never be me crossing a line, because that's when we're most susceptible to that.” - Tom Hardin
Read the transcript of this episode
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From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.