Strengthening Public Sector Security Against the Threat from Within

Government departments can use technology to get ahead of external fraud threats by unlocking the value of their data and applying decision intelligence for enhanced fraud prevention and detection. But not all threats come from outside. 

A Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) report highlights a rise in complex, internal fraud ranging from staff collusion with external actors, abuse of access privileges, and even the infiltration of government departments by Organized Crime Groups. Yet detection remains fragmented and reactive. 

With departments like HMRC and DWP overseeing large workforces and handling high volumes of sensitive citizen data and benefits, the threat from within has never been more real or potentially costly.  And as public trust, service quality, and financial integrity are at stake, addressing this risk must be high on the agenda. 

The insider risk we can’t ignore 

According to the National Audit Office (NAO), the UK government loses an estimated £55 billion to £81 billion annually to fraud and error. While external fraud makes headlines, the insider element is a significant part of this cost often harder to detect and far more damaging in the long term. 

Recent media reports have surfaced a number of examples of civil servants and council workers holding multiple full-time jobs across departments undetected for months or even years. While some cases may stem from opportunism, others suggest something more coordinated: potential collusion and deliberate infiltration by organized crime groups (OCGs). 

A notable recent case involves a civil servant accused of simultaneously holding full-time positions at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Tower Hamlets Council. This individual allegedly failed to disclose concurrent employment, leading to multiple salaries and overlapping security clearances.  

Such instances of "polygamous working" where employees hold multiple full-time roles without disclosure have been identified as an emerging risk, increased by remote and hybrid work arrangements that were put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Organized crime doesn’t stop at benefit fraud or false claims; they adapt and look for points of vulnerability. With insider access, a single employee can compromise entire systems, leak sensitive citizen data, or approve fraudulent transactions under the radar. 

These are not isolated issues: 

• Insider fraud has traditionally relied on self-declaration, with limited ongoing monitoring. 

• Siloed HR, payroll, and access systems make it hard to detect anomalies, and disparate systems hinder the ability to cross-reference employment records across departments. 

• And too often, public bodies are only able to react after the damage is done. 

The role of context in detecting insider threats 

Insider threats are uniquely dangerous because they exploit the very systems designed to serve citizens. These actors understand the checks, controls, and vulnerabilities. Often, their behavior blends into the everyday, making detection almost impossible without context. 

Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence platform helps organizations build a holistic, connected view of every employee not just who they are, but who they're connected to, what access they have, and how their activity compares to what’s normal. 

It supports organizations to move away from just vetting at entry. Quantexa enables continuous monitoring across recruitment, active employment, and offboarding alerting teams to evolving risks. 

Key capabilities include: 

• Entity Resolution: Connecting fragmented employee records, aliases, and related entities across HR, finance, access logs, and systems. 

• Network Analytics: Identifying hidden connections across internal departments, suppliers, and external actors highlighting potential collusion and unexplained patterns 

• Q-Assist: Equipping investigators and case workers with generative AI that summarizes risk profiles, highlights anomalies, and surfaces emerging threats in plain language.  

Creating a 360° view of the workforce: Unifying data for improved context

To detect insider threats effectively, government bodies need to evaluate what data sources, both internal and external, they have available that can be unified in an automated way to a high accuracy to create this context. Typical data sources could include: 

Internal sources: 

• HR and payroll systems 

• Employee declarations (conflicts of interest, second jobs) 

• Access and activity logs  

• Gifts and Entertainment registry 

• Case management and audit trails 

External sources: 

• Credit reference agencies – for financial stress or undisclosed debt  

• Companies House – to identify hidden directorships 

• Electoral roll and open-source data – for address verification 

• Watchlists and PEPs/sanctions – for background screening 

• Social media and adverse media – for reputational red flags 

• Law enforcement intelligence (where available under legal gateways) 

From detection to enablement 

What makes this approach powerful is that it's not just about catching bad actors — it's about enabling the vast majority of honest public servants to do their jobs more effectively: 

• Fewer false positives reduce workload and frustration. 

• Better risk detection and prioritization helps focus attention on real threats. 

• And smarter data use ensures genuine citizens get the help they need quickly, securely, and fairly. 

• Empower them with Q-Assist to support case workers to support accurate decisions and deliver an improved customer experience with confidence. 

Looking within to improve security

Fraud prevention has often focused on keeping the bad actors out. But to truly protect the public purse, we must also shine a light inward with the same smart use of technology that is used for external fraud. 

By creating a contextual view of the workforce and their connections, public sector bodies can: 

• Identify early warning signs and prevent further insider abuse before it escalates 

• Surface hidden risks with accuracy and confidence 

• Strengthen public trust in the integrity of government services 

FInd out more on how Quantexa is helping government and public sector clients tackle fraud with intelligence-led approaches.