Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised
• SEI Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
Topic or Tag
Abstract
This white paper updates the 2008 article "Spotlight On: Programming Techniques Used as an Insider Attack Tool." The white paper begins with a discussion of the who, what, when, where, and how of insider attacks and covers case examples of malicious insiders who attacked using programming techniques. This paper highlights technical malicious insiders who use their skills to create scripts or programs that harm their organizations. The insiders in these attacks were able to modify source code, set logic bombs to destroy data, and write programs to capture user credentials.
Cite This SEI Report
Collins, M., Cappelli, D., Caron, T., Trzeciak, R., & Moore, A. (2013, December 2). Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised. Retrieved September 12, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/spotlight-on-programmers-as-malicious-insidersupdated-and-revised/.
@techreport{collins_2013,
author={Collins, Matthew and Cappelli, Dawn and Caron, Thomas and Trzeciak, Randall and Moore, Andrew},
title={Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised},
month={Dec},
year={2013},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/spotlight-on-programmers-as-malicious-insidersupdated-and-revised/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Sep-12}
}
Collins, Matthew, Dawn Cappelli, Thomas Caron, Randall Trzeciak, and Andrew Moore. "Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, December 2, 2013. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/spotlight-on-programmers-as-malicious-insidersupdated-and-revised/.
M. Collins, D. Cappelli, T. Caron, R. Trzeciak, and A. Moore, "Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 2-Dec-2013 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/spotlight-on-programmers-as-malicious-insidersupdated-and-revised/. [Accessed: 12-Sep-2026].
Collins, Matthew, Dawn Cappelli, Thomas Caron, Randall Trzeciak, and Andrew Moore. "Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 2 Dec. 2013. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/spotlight-on-programmers-as-malicious-insidersupdated-and-revised/. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.
Collins, Matthew; Cappelli, Dawn; Caron, Thomas; Trzeciak, Randall; & Moore, Andrew. Spotlight On: Programmers as Malicious Insiders–Updated and Revised. Software Engineering Institute. 2013. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/spotlight-on-programmers-as-malicious-insidersupdated-and-revised/