Incorporating endpoint security into a company’s cyber security plan is crucial. With the popularity of remote work, cybercriminals can use teleworkers’ devices as stepping stones into the corporate network to steal data or spread malware.
The latest versions of endpoint solutions provide robust and unified protection against real-life attacks. Learn the five must-haves and core principles of an optimal endpoint protection system.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
works proactively to detect and respond to threats, stopping them from becoming full-blown breaches. Unlike traditional antivirus and firewalls that use signature detection, an EDR solution uses behavioral analysis capabilities to identify unknown threats.
Using real-time analytics, an EDR system recognizes when incoming data matches the pattern of a known threat and triggers an automatic response. For example, it might log off the end user or alert a security administrator.
The EDR software can also retain data for future investigative and forensic tools. In this way, it is possible to investigate a prolonged attack or even previously undiscovered attacks.
XDR, or Extended Detection and Response, is the latest evolution of the EDR security tool. Using heuristics, analytics, and automation, it stitches together disparate security tools into one platform to improve visibility and speed up investigations of advanced threats. This eliminates the need for security teams to juggle multiple alerts from siloed tools and dramatically reduces the time it takes to find threats in your environment. It also reduces the number of false positives so that your team can remain productive.
Endpoint Security Management (ESM)
Endpoint security management secures devices, users, and networks from unauthorized access and cyber threats. It is usually accomplished with small software apps (agents) that run on endpoint devices. These agents collect, analyze and report data to a central management server for further processing.
These agent-based systems allow cyber security professionals to define policies for all endpoints and users remotely. They also enable system administrators to monitor the device’s security posture and quickly respond to anomalies.
Many organizations support remote working, which increases the need for strong endpoint protection. Teleworkers may use their devices and not apply the latest security updates, putting them at greater risk of cyber threats. Additionally, a cybercriminal can use the teleworker’s computer as a stepping stone into the organization’s network.
Checkpoint endpoint security offers an integrated suite of security solutions, including EPP, EDR, full disk encryption, remote access VPN, and zero-day phishing prevention. This solution can prevent major endpoint attacks like ransom ware and help minimize breach impact. It is easily deployed and managed through a single management console.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) is cyber security software that detects and blocks cyber threats at the device level. This is typically done through antivirus, anti-malware, data encryption, personal firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems.
EPP solutions are typically preventative, allowing IT teams to identify and block known threats using local or cloud-based threat analysis. This includes identifying indicators of compromise (IOCs) and preventing malicious activity like lateral movement, malware downloads, ransom ware, data theft, and other exploits on remote endpoints.
A reliable EPP solution should also provide continuous access to real-time global threat data to improve the detection of zero-day attacks. This is because attackers constantly change their tactics and try new techniques that old filter-based systems might need to pick up on.
A good EPP solution should be able to detect and block these changes without disrupting the user’s experience. It should also provide a single interface enabling deployment and security policies to be configured and managed from a central management server. This should include a graphical tree of users and computers to allow administrators to define software deployment and security policies as global or granular as needed.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Data loss is an ever-present risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches. In addition to the actual financial cost of the attacks, there are often regulatory fines, legal fees, and reputational damage that businesses must face. Fortunately, this can be prevented with the right DLP strategy and best-in-class software.
An effective DLP program will help you align data security measures with your business goals and objectives. This will help employees understand the importance of their roles when handling sensitive information. It will also help you set clear expectations for behavior and establish accountability with the appropriate consequences.
Effective DLP solutions will provide a range of monitoring and reporting capabilities to prevent the accidental loss of data. This can be done by identifying the data types that need protection and establishing access control guidelines for each type of information. You can also use digital tags and watermarks to identify and limit access to sensitive information. In addition, you can implement procedures for securely disposing of data that is no longer needed to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.
Network Access Control (NAC)
As more and more devices join corporate networks – whether as part of bring-your-own-device policies, third-party contractor agreements, or expansion in Internet-of-Things (IoT) hardware like automated equipment, sensors, or vehicles – security teams must be able to ensure they are following gold-standard network access controls. Network access control solutions can monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic to detect anomalous behavior that could indicate a breach.
NAC solutions can also prevent unmanaged IoT devices from connecting to the network unless they are explicitly authorized to do so by IT. This prevents the unauthorized spread of malware from one device to another within the corporate environment and reduces the impact of cyber attacks on business productivity.
NAC solutions can be integrated with other security systems to identify risks based on the behavior of endpoints and the underlying protocols they use. Security analysts can quickly identify risky changes to network activity. This can help to protect data from theft and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Integrated NAC can also deliver threat response data to third-party security partners, speeding up mitigation measures.