For all of the talk of cyber espionage and online threats it’s easy to forget that the biggest security risk to any system is the human behind the computer. Wikileaks, for example, offers perhaps one of the strongest indicators for how espionage often plays out – and how one weak link can jeopardize thousands of lives and troves of information.

Government has long known, and held, that the insider risk is not one to be forgotten. Take this 2008 gem “Exploring the Mind of the Spy” written by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services Dr. Mike Gelles. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

Security professionals have known for many years that the principal espionage threat to classified information does not come from clever and devious foreigners. It comes from "insiders" — Americans working in a position of trust within the government or defense industry. These are Americans who, after thorough investigation, have been granted a security clearance that authorizes them to have access to government secrets, but who then go bad and betray their employer and their country.

Of the 98 Americans arrested for espionage during the past 20 years, almost all were trustworthy and loyal Americans at the time they were investigated and first approved for security clearance. They changed over time. What is most surprising is that a large majority of those who became spies volunteered their services to a foreign government. They were not enticed, persuaded, manipulated, or coerced into betraying their country.

The article goes on to note the personality of a spy, and the psychosis. The two most common personality disorders found in spies are antisocial personality disorder and narcissism. The issue with any personality disorder is if the behavior present is severe enough to prevent an individual from obtaining a security clearance (and hence eliminate some of the security risk).

Spies are not "crazy," but they usually are emotionally disturbed or suffer from one or more personality disorders. A personality disorder is recognizable as a pattern of behavior that is poorly adapted to the circumstances in which it occurs, leading to conflicts in relationships, difficulties at work, and periodic emotional shifts. Behavior can become self-defeating and sometimes self-destructive.

Spies usually aren’t nuts who’ve cracked under a moment of stress – they’re individuals with long-standing issues, which emerged over time. The spy may once have been loyal to God and country, but over the course of time lapsed in judgment and behavior to the point that they sought to betray their country and access to sensitive information.  Gelles argues that often-times the behavior could or should have been spotted – by coworkers or supervisors.

So – are there spies among us? Absolutely. The narcissist next door could be one personality disorder away from posing a serious threat. Read Gelles’ full report here, and explore the mind of a spy.

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Lindy Kyzer is the director of content at ClearanceJobs.com. Have a conference, tip, or story idea to share? Email lindy.kyzer@clearancejobs.com. Interested in writing for ClearanceJobs.com? Learn more here.. @LindyKyzer