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What is endpoint security, does it affect your business and why is it important?

It is estimated that the damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. The only thing a cyber attacker has to do is breach a single endpoint on your network and all it takes is a click on an email. Prevention in this case is of utmost importance.

 

Let’s start by explaining what endpoint security is.

 

What is endpoint security?

 

An endpoint is the new perimeter in businesses, this could never have been more true than right now, with COVID-19 dividing us and our workforce over multiple locations and access points, not just by keeping us apart but also dividing our network and protecting endpoints. By keeping the endpoints of the corporate network out from underneath the perimeter of protection of the corporate network the endpoint now becomes the focal point, and this is where we need to protect the endpoint with capable tools.

 

Remote working has seen a drastic increase in the number of cybersecurity-related attacks. We digress…an endpoint is any device, that being a computer, tablet, or phone that has access to the company network. Literally, any device that an employee uses to access the company network or share company-related data and information with other employees, suppliers, or customers.

 

What are you doing to manage endpoint security in your business, ensuring that access to information is restricted and that all devices on your network maintain certain levels of security?

Why is endpoint security important?

 


Endpoint devices are all the devices that are connected via the internet onto a company’s network. Imagine drawers and filing cabinets containing extremely sensitive information including internet banking passwords sitting in a single room in the middle of your office building. This office has many doors leading into it directly off the side of the street. Now imagine every door standing wide open with an illuminated corridor leading directly to the filing cabinet. The doors are symbolic of every device on your network. What have you got in front of those doors, to restrict access…nothing…a safety gate…surveillance camera…early-warning alarm systems…armed guards?

 

You’d be surprised how many people we’ve helped didn’t even force a password on a tablet or mobile phone to restrict unauthorized access to the company network.

 

Have you secured every desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, POS system, printer, scanner, and tablet on your network? Anything an employee uses to communicate with one another and share data is vulnerable and must be secured.

 

Ensure you have a comprehensive cybersecurity program that’s a “must-have” requirement for small local businesses and huge multinational corporations. Think of it less as an insurance policy and more of a well-lit alarm system to stop hackers who are mining for your valuable data and most of the time without you evening knowing

Why should you be concerned about protecting endpoint devices?

 

 

An endpoint device is by far the weakest access point on every business’s network today. Still not convinced? Take a moment to reflect on why breaches occur.

 

 

Many businesses install antivirus and anti-malware software on company computers, but mobile devices are overlooked most of the time. Employee negligence and ignorance are of great concern, and endpoint devices of which mobile phones and tablets qualify are exactly how they have access to the company network.

 

What about hackers and phishing attacks? The reality is that programmers looking to exploit weaknesses in systems go for the easiest vulnerability with the highest likelihood of success. More businesses are operating remotely, which means there are more endpoint devices with more opportunities for failure.

 

What are the challenges to effective cyber-protection?

Cybersecurity becomes increasingly complex as more endpoint devices are added to the company network. While the mobility and ease of communication make it easier to be efficient, they can also prove challenging for protection.

For effective endpoint security, business owners and leaders must create a policy that covers a network that doesn’t have geographic limits.

There is no time like the present to protect against the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape and to guarding the new perimeter, i.e. securing every endpoint from all the hackers and fraudsters in the online world.

Always use a trusted solution and keep it updated at all times.

 

In summary, cybersecurity is here to stay, and it is becoming increasingly more advanced daily. Ensure that you do your utmost to secure your business against a potential cybersecurity attack. Educate your employees to be vigilant as their negligence is partly a reflection of how well you have equipped them. Ensure that you understand all the potential cybersecurity risks faced by your business and that you have adequate protection in place.

 

We offer free cybersecurity risk assessments and can tailor-make solutions to fit and secure your unique business, BIG or small.

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