The integrity of a company’s network is vital to the success or failure of the organization. Servers, desktop computers in an office, work laptops, wireless printers, and employees’ cell phones all need protection. These are endpoints in a digital system that stores financial records, customer information, personnel details, and intellectual property. In this modern Internet of Things, it is essential for devices containing sensitive content to be secured.
What is an Endpoint?
An endpoint is any digital device in an organization that acts as a gateway to the internal network, company resources, or confidential data. It provides the user with the ability to access, process, store, or use information that should not be available to anyone outside the organization.
Whether only a few devices or a few thousand, all endpoints must be protected from malicious actors by a robust digital security system.
In the past, it was relatively easy to secure a company’s endpoints, since all the devices were stored in one or two buildings and they mostly stayed in one place. Now, however, smartphones, global high speed internet connection, and COVID-19 have changed the game profoundly. Between remote work and international business, companies often have hundreds or thousands of endpoints distributed across the globe. As an access point to an organization’s network and resources, a compromised endpoint can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Antivirus Protection
Most companies tend to emphasize digital security with an antivirus software. While such a program plays an important role in a company’s security plan, it must not be the only digital defense.
Antivirus software can have high numbers of false positives, and only detects an average of 40% of attacks on a network. Skilled hackers are able to obfuscate their malware payloads well enough to go undetected by most antivirus software. These issues compel IT departments to expend time and resources to investigate non-threats, while 60% of threats go unnoticed for critical hours. Even if it had a higher success rate, an antivirus solution only addresses network threats that involve malware, while other types of threats can be just as damaging.
This means that organizations must use additional measures to protect their company data in the ever-changing world of cyber security. Endpoint Security is essential to properly manage and defend a network.
Protecting An Endpoint from a Distance
An organization must take concrete steps to defend endpoints, no matter how widespread and numerous those devices are. These steps range from creating device usage policies for phones that contain company data, to helping employees secure their home office setups, to utilizing data encryption for devices, such as BitLocker for Windows machines.
IT personnel should also install a data security software package that allows the company to monitor their endpoints and shut them down remotely at the first sign of suspicious activity. Any misplaced phone or stolen computer can spell disaster for an organization, so a software that offers geolocation capabilities is a basic requirement for device and data security.
In order to protect the integrity of the network, it is also crucial to invest in a security software that allows an administrator to remotely lock any endpoint at a moment’s notice, as well as remotely wipe all data from a device. This will protect the organization’s data, removing it from the hands of a malicious actor with just a few clicks.
About DriveStrike
In situations where endpoints are physically controlled by unauthorized users, every minute is crucial to avoid a cataclysmic breach. The DriveStrike console allows administrators to access essential security functions in one digital dashboard, and manage up to thousands of endpoints quickly and effectively. Start your free trial today and feel free to contact us at any time with questions! Your security is our priority.