5 Reasons For Your Enterprise’s Endpoint Security Problems

What are the 5 reasons your enterprise continues to face endpoint security problems?

In previous articles, we discussed the changes in the business-level cybersecurity paradigm. Above all, cybersecurity continues to shift away from prioritizing prevention to emphasizing detection capabilities.

As a result, cybersecurity experts tend to downplay the importance of endpoint security in enterprises’ overall cybersecurity; instead, they proclaim the importance of identity management and security analytics.

Granted, these two branches of cybersecurity remain vital to optimal for enterprises of all sizes. However, neglecting endpoint security can sound the death knell of your overall InfoSec platform. Enterprises face endpoint security problems every day which can lay out the welcome mat to external threat actors.

If you want to strengthen your business’ cybersecurity, you must address these endpoint security problems. Here are 5 reasons you still struggle with your digital perimeter security and what you can do about it!      

Endpoint Security Problems in Context

Before we begin, we must first establish the current threat landscape—especially the internal threat landscape. According to the recent Absolute “2019 Endpoint Security Trends Report” enterprises face significant endpoint security problems from within:

• 100% of endpoint security tools eventually fail.
• 70% of breaches begin at the endpoint.
• 35% of breaches stem from existing vulnerabilities.
• 28% of endpoints become unprotected at any point during the year.
• 28% of endpoints still rely on outdated anti-malware.

Meanwhile, the Ponemon’s 2018 State of Endpoint Security Risk Report provides some insights about the external threat landscape:

• 63% of IT security professionals note an increase in attack frequency.
• 52% of respondents don’t believe in the prevention of all attacks.
• Antivirus solutions only block 43% of attacks.

Of course, both kinds of endpoint security problems present serious challenges to business cybersecurity efforts. But is the situation really so dire? Are the endpoint security problems enterprises contend with insurmountable?  

We don’t believe so at all. In fact, here are the solutions to the 5 most common problems.

5 Reasons For Your Enterprise’s Endpoint Security Problems

1. Not Understanding Endpoint Security

Of course, this represents the root and stem of many endpoint security problems. Often, enterprise decision-makers conflate modern next-generation endpoint security with the earliest computer protection programs. At one time, this association proved accurate. However, this is no longer the case.  

So what is endpoint security? Put simply, endpoint security works to secure all of the devices connecting to your enterprise network.

Of course, endpoint security does consist of anti-malware and firewalls—the original capabilities of early computer protection. Yet those capabilities, however critical, only scratches the surface of endpoint security’s functionality.

After all, each device—each endpoint—connecting to your network constitutes a potential gateway into your IT infrastructure. Data traffic moves in and out of endpoints, and can even end up stored there. Additionally, applications interact with these endpoints all the time, which can create security holes when unmonitored.

So your endpoint security must also include:

• Port Control.
• Application Control.
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR).
• Data Loss Prevention.
• Sandboxing.
• Secure Email Gateways.
• Cloud Perimeter Security.

Therefore, you need to educate yourself on the benefits of next-gen endpoint protection platforms. Additionally, you should familiarize yourself with your enterprise use case to understand which capabilities you need to prioritize.

2. Ignoring the Trends in Endpoint Protection Evolution

Technology research giant Gartner notes the maturity of the endpoint protection platform in their Magic Quadrant report. However, maturity does not equate static. Endpoint security constantly evolves to best deflect and deter hackers’ tactics. Yet enterprises frequently ignore these changes, causing no end of endpoint security problems in the long term.   

The most current trends in endpoint protection platforms include the benefits of machine learning; these AI algorithms help security teams keep up with increasingly automated digital threats.

Moreover, modern digital perimeters must include fortifications against fileless malware. This new kind of malware acts radically different than other more traditional attacks; instead of malware downloading a file onto your endpoints, fileless malware exploits native processes.

By doing so, fileless malware conceals itself from typical detection while it conducts its malicious purposes. Only a next-gen solution can defend against these threats.

Finally, modern EPP must address the Internet of Things (IoT). Businesses incorporate IoT devices into their networks without first asking whether they contain any security whatsoever. Oftentimes, they don’t—even if they do, it’s rare for that security to be easy to patch.

As part of your efforts to ameliorate your business’ endpoint security problems, you need to stay up to date with the latest trends in capabilities and threats. Having multiple threat intelligence feeds can help.     

3. Overcomplicating Your Endpoint Security

Here’s a common fallacy: the more you have of cybersecurity, the more secure your enterprise.

Actually, the opposite proves true more often than not; in fact, the more streamlined and integrated your endpoint protection platform, the more secure your digital assets.

According to Absolute, every additional security tool on your endpoints only increases the probability of failure. Yet on average, enterprises employ 10 security agents per device; these can include encryption, anti-malware, and patch management agents.  

The reason why shouldn’t surprise anyone; the more security agents the more likely integration issues and security holes shall abound. Further, each agent requires its own attention and monitoring which often results in agents being lost in the shuffle and decaying.  

Deploying a centralized endpoint security solution can solve this problem. After all, a next-gen solution should include all of the agents in a single bundle while including centralized management. This helps IT security teams monitor your capabilities effectively and prevent decay preemptively.   

4. Lack of Accountability

Your endpoint security problems aren’t just solved magically by investing in EPP solutions. Therefore, you need some system in place to ensure your business benefits from your cybersecurity and receives optimal protection. As such, your enterprise should have a system in place to ensure accountability. Ideally, the plan should answer the following:

• Who is responsible for selecting your EPP?
• How will you deploy the solution? How long will that take?
• What strategies will you employ to educate your users about working within the solution rather than circumventing it?
• How will you monitor its success? How is success defined?
• Where will you receive threat intelligence, and how will you incorporate it?

5. Prioritizing On Anti-Malware Above Other Capabilities

Finally, continued reliance on anti-malware represents one of the most common enterprise endpoint security problems. Usually, enterprise decision-makers believe that anti-malware alone can solve their cybersecurity problems; after all, that used to solve such issues in previous years.

However, as we discussed above, anti-malware only handles some of the issues your business faces. You need the other capabilities to even possibly stand up to external threat actors. Malware remains a threat, sure, but malicious data traffic, dwelling threats, and porous perimeters represent equal threats.

Most likely, your enterprise faces distinct endpoint security problems. Handling them should become a top-of-mind priority for your IT security team and your business overall.

If you want to learn more about endpoint protection platforms, be sure to check out our Buyer’s Guide! We detail the top vendors in the field and their key capabilities!