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Answering the Top 4 Enterprise Endpoint Security Questions

What's the Difference Between Antivirus and Endpoint Security?

endpoint security questions

Do you have endpoint security questions? If you are an enterprise of any size in the modern age of IT environments, digital transformations, and cybersecurity fears, you most likely do. In the bustle of threat warnings, malware evolution reports, and cybersecurity innovations, getting a straight answer to any of those endpoint security questions can prove frustrating. So what can you do?

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Thankfully, we here at Solutions Review have cut through the noise and confusion surrounding the Endpoint Security marketplace thanks to tireless hours of research. We’ve come up with the 4 most pressing endpoint security questions confronting enterprises today—and the best answers to those questions.

Here’s what we found:

So if preventative measures aren’t keeping up with the flood of digital threats, should my enterprise invest in endpoint security at all?

One of the most frequent endpoint security questions stemming from expert and enterprise alike asks of the relevance of endpoint security (as a preventative measure) in the first place. Many of the worst data breaches and hacks from the past year were exacerbated by inadequate or complete lack of cybersecurity detection. Some studies have questioned whether enterprises should be placing as much emphasis on endpoint security (more specifically anti-malware) as they do. As a result, both SIEM and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions have seen increased interest from solution providers and enterprises for their detection capabilities.

However, endpoint security— and preventive measures in cybersecurity—are still vital to your enterprise’s digital safety. You can think of your enterprise’s network as a house. If you live in a rough neighborhood—given the current deluge of hacks and attacks not a stretch of the imagination—you’ll want to install a top of the line alarm system in your house. That way, if someone breaks in, the police will be alerted promptly and respond in kind.

EDR can be seen as your network’s alarm, in an endpoint security context. However, the preventative aspects of cybersecurity can be seen as the front door to your network house. A thick door with a heavy lock may not deter more experienced or determined burglars/hackers. Instead, it will prevent entry by less-experienced cybercriminals, and will convince others to try attacking a network with less extensive security measures. After all, why not burglar the house next door if it will be an easier crime?     

Without deploying the preventative aspects of endpoint security, your network is essentially a house with no door…hackers have far more incentive to attack your enterprise.

Should I be worried about the IoT devices in my enterprise’s network? I’ve heard some contradictory things lately.

The discourse surrounding Internet of Things (IoT) devices in enterprise cybersecurity can be complex. A recent report by solution provider Trend Micro found that the prevalence of cryptocurrency mining malware on IoT devices isn’t quite as extensive as experts once believed. IoT devices don’t quite have the processing power that would make these kinds of attacks profitable. This may not be the truth in the near future, but it seems to be the case now.  

However, endpoint security for the IoT is still essential to keeping your enterprise’s digital assets safe. IoT devices are either built with no cybersecurity in their programming or with poor protocols that are difficult to update. Often, legacy endpoint security solutions don’t detect IoT devices on the network, so they aren’t protected as part of the IT environment’s perimeter. The combination of these two factors make IoT devices major security holes in your cybersecurity platform—holes hackers are more than willing to exploit.

IoT devices can provide a route into and out of your network without triggering your security alarm systems until far too late. The casino-IoT fish tank story might seem funny from a distance but it proves how effective these vulnerabilities can be to cybercriminals. You need an endpoint security solution that can close these holes before the hackers find them.

Should I even invest in endpoint security? Shouldn’t my enterprise invest more in employee cybersecurity training?

Of all of the endpoint security questions bandied about today, this is probably the most prescient. Cybersecurity experts seem agreed that while finding an endpoint security solution is important, changing user behaviors is even more necessary to secure databases. The cybersecurity staffing problem is starting to take a serious toll on enterprise’s cyber resilience. So shouldn’t enterprises invest in better cybersecurity training and awareness programs for their employees rather than in a new endpoint security solution?      

Well, it’s not quite so simple. The problem with this question is that it raises even more questions about the best practices in cybersecurity education and the effectiveness of that education. We’ve written before about the statistical effectiveness of gamification in teaching best practices to employees, but those techniques haven’t been codified nor are they widespread. Gamification is not a simple process, as it takes time and resources to design and implement—time and resources you may not have.  

Additionally, results from LogMeIn on password behaviors indicate that even with awareness or cybersecurity best practices, employee behaviors don’t always change. You’ll still need a preventative endpoint security solution to facilitate and support your employee’s behaviors and mitigate the damage when they do inevitably make a mistake. Your employees are only human, after all.  

I already have an endpoint security solution. Why should I pick one of these newer solutions?

Enterprises sometimes treat their legacy endpoint security solution as they would treat a favorite vehicle: if it still starts and seems to get you from A to B effectively, why make a potentially expensive change?

Except that legacy endpoint security solutions aren’t actually getting you from A to B—they’re only providing you the illusion of safety. Legacy endpoint security solutions aren’t capable of detecting and preventing new signatureless malware or fileless malware species. Nor can they stop the new evasion techniques hackers have become fond of. They’re programmed to stop traditional malware, which has fallen out of favor in recent years for much more devastating techniques. Therefore, you need a solution that is capable of preventing the modern threats and receives regular updates so that it’s threat library is effective against threat evolution.

Do you still have endpoint security questions? It might be time to download our 2018 Endpoint Security Buyers’ Guide. It contains questions to help you self-reflect on your use-case and find the right vendor for your needs.

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