Endpoint security is the measure taken to ensure the safety and integrity of a network’s data. Companies with multiple access points, or endpoints, to their network need adequate protection for each one. Possible entry points range anywhere from office and personal devices that employees use, such as computers, printers, and tablets, to online access points.
The primary purpose of using specialized endpoint protection software over implementing traditional safety measures is that it provides complete, single-point control over all endpoints and keeps track of them. It works by patching up any security gaps as they arise and alerts admins of a preach to ensure timely countermeasures.
Endpoint Protection 101
Endpoint protection, more commonly known as endpoint security, entails securing all entry points to a specific network. The essential goal is to protect against zero-day attacks, SQL injection, malware attacks in various forms, and any human error.
As the number of devices within a network constantly fluctuates within larger businesses, using traditionally-installed endpoint protection software is time and energy-consuming. This dilemma prompted the shift into cloud-based protection platforms. An endpoint protection cloud suite security platform protects all connected devices from file-based malware and unauthorized access. They also track any suspicious behavior and alert the network manager.
The Current Landscape of Cyber Threats
According to a 2020 survey by Ponemon Institute, experts expect that the number of zero-day endpoint attacks will more than double in the upcoming years. The average cost of a cyberattack is now averaging just under $9 million as repercussions of stolen data, ransom, and system downtime.
Relatively small companies often think that they reside on the safer end of the cyber threats spectrum. However, 43 percent of all cyberattacks happen to smaller establishments because they make an easier target for offenders who take advantage of the fact that only 14 percent of them are well-protected.
It is essential to consider that while most attacks are financially motivated, not all of them demand ransom for encrypted or stolen data. Companies that deal with large amounts of customer data and information are at a notably higher risk of security breaches that target and leak private data, either for espionage or illegal sales.
Contrary to what the name suggests, endpoint cybersecurity attacks don’t just use gaps in a company’s security system to steal or lock information. Instead, the majority of attacks exploit a human endpoint into the network. The most common cybersecurity threat is phishing, where the attacker disguises themselves as an authentic email and requests confidential log-in information from the recipients, often high-ranked employees. In response to phishing attacks, many companies now invest in higher security measures for their emails and continuously educate their employees on the dangers of social engineering.
Cybersecurity and Big Data
The clear advantage of using a cloud platform is the utilization of big data. With information from multiple networks in different industries and areas of the world, an evolving database can predict attacks before they happen by analyzing patterns of previous successful attacks.
Without the cloud’s ability to analyze big data, companies render themselves vulnerable to a myriad of new attacks, since traditional security only focuses on known attacks.
Big data analysis allows companies to gain more in-depth insight into their various endpoints, revealing which are more susceptible to attacks and require more attention. While some mega corporations opt to run their own data analysis, it is rather costly and demands resources that many companies, even large ones, do not possess. Using a specialized cloud that has massive computational power guarantees speedy processing of the data and specialized algorithms made to detect suspicious behavior, weak points, and patterns.
Instead of using traditional software that only works on protection, it is a much wiser option to invest in endpoint detection and response software (EDR.) An EDR collects data from both online and offline endpoints within a network and responds to potential attacks before they happen. This is thanks to information and patterns from the analysis of big data. In addition to prevention, EDR’s precise timeline of data pinpoints the exact crack the attack managed to slip through, preventing it, and similar attacks, from happening again.
Invest in Your Company’s Success
Finding and implementing the right endpoint protection software can seem like a daunting task, but data privacy concerns and cyber attacks are growing exponentially, and companies need to act immediately. The right security software should cover all of a company’s needs and grow alongside it. Security is a necessary investment better done early.
