Observing the absence of usual or the presence of unusual: a new lens on insider threat reporting

In an era dominated by surveillance tools and behavioural analytics, organisations still overlook their most powerful early warning system — people.

Reporting data is a critical indicator of whether your organisation’s security measures are both proportionate and effective.

It can also serve as an early warning sign of emerging risks.

Without this data, organisations are often operating in the dark — unable to respond to threats in a timely or informed manner. 

In this episode, based on the article "Observing the Absence of Usual or the Presence of Unusual,"  Marina Shteinberg, director and co-founder of Pentagram Advisory, explores the human side of insider threat detection: how observation, intuition, and language shape our willingness to report.

Marina delves into the psychology and psycholinguistics behind workplace reporting.

Why do people hesitate to speak up, even when they sense something is off?

How do words like “snitch” or “whistleblower” influence our moral choices?

Discover how organisations can harness the deeply human ability to sense change — often subtle, emotional, and unspoken — and foster cultures where reporting is not seen as betrayal, but as an act of care.

Because at its core, security begins with human connection, and our intuition — shaped over thousands of years of social interaction — remains one of the most reliable tools we have.