Director, Cyber Defense & Response - Insider Risk

Job Classification:

Technology - Information Security

Are you passionate about safeguarding organizations from within by integrating innovative analytics, strategic prevention, and cyber defense capabilities? Our Cyber Defense and Response team is dedicated to a culture where proactive risk management is part of our DNA. When you join Prudential as a Director of Insider Risk, you’ll unlock a high-impact career path, while continuously growing your expertise at one of the world’s leading financial institutions.

Your Team & Role:

The Director of Insider Risk is responsible for leading the daily operations of Prudential’s enterprise Insider Risk Program, focused on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks posed by employees, contractors, and third-party partners.

This role oversees the detection, investigation, and prevention of insider risk activities and ensures the program operates through a cross-functional partnership between Cybersecurity, Human Resources, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management.

The Director establishes operational processes, and investigative standards to ensure insider risk cases are handled consistently, lawfully, and with appropriate confidentiality. The role also provides leadership with risk insights and behavioral indicators that help the organization proactively reduce internal threats.

Here is what you can expect on a typical day:

• Lead the global Insider Risk Program, establishing and continuously evolving operating procedures aligned with enterprise practices and standards.
• Build, mentor, and manage a team of insider risk analysts responsible for monitoring, investigations, and case management.
• Establish investigative standards, playbooks, and procedures to ensure insider risk events are handled consistently, lawfully, and with appropriate confidentiality.
• Coordinate insider risk activities across Security, HR, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management to ensure cross-functional case handling.
• Oversee insider risk detection capabilities, including behavioral analytics, endpoint monitoring, and relevant security telemetry.
• Partner with technology teams to evaluate, implement, and optimize insider risk detection tools and analytics platforms.
• Lead the triage, investigation, and response to insider risk incidents, ensuring proper evidence handling and documentation.
• Conduct insider risk assessments and analyze behavioral indicators to identify potential internal threats and organizational control gaps.
• Partner with Security Awareness to develop targeted education and prevention initiatives that reduce insider risk exposure.
• Provide regular reporting and briefings to executive leadership on insider risk trends, investigations, and program effectiveness.
• Monitor emerging insider threat trends, technologies, and research to continuously enhance the insider risk program.
• Drive continuous improvement of detection, investigation, and prevention capabilities in alignment with leading practices.
• Operate effectively in ambiguous and complex situations, independently assessing risk, making timely decisions, and applying a flexible, solutions-oriented approach to resolve insider risk challenges.
• Continuously develop professional expertise by completing relevant training and pursuing industry-recognized certifications to stay current with evolving insider risk, cybersecurity, and investigative practices.

The Skills and Expertise You Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Psychology, Criminal Justice, or a related field preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in cybersecurity, insider risk, threat management, digital investigations, or incident response, with at least 3 years focused on insider risk or internal threat detection.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and managing enterprise or global programs.
• Strong understanding of insider risk frameworks and multidisciplinary program models.
• Experience working in cross-functional environments with Human Resources, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, and Risk Management.
• Strong knowledge of insider risk detection methods, behavioral indicators, and investigative techniques used to identify and assess internal threats.
• Hands-on experience with security monitoring and analytics technologies such as SIEM, User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA/UBA), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platforms.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and industry security frameworks (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001, Cybersecurity Framework) and their application to insider risk monitoring and investigations.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skill