Another study revealed
how cyber attacks grew by 328% over the course of 2017—in
other words, the average computer faced more than three attacks per
month. When considered from an organizational perspective, this could
translate to multiple attacks per day across hundreds of endpoints.
What Constitutes a Good Endpoint
Protection Plan?
With 60% of cyber attacks originating from
devices inside your organization, your current infrastructure should provide
advanced endpoint protection to ensure the safety of data.
With multiple endpoint
security options available, it is important to remember that comprehensive
protection involves much more than just installing anti-virus software.
Here are four features
that are crucial to a good security plan:
1. Policy Management
Effective endpoint
protection allows organizations to define a set of rules regarding who gets to
access the company server, the permissions for each user, and exceptions for
overriding these protocols. Additionally, it should also provide you with the
option to customize policies for every device and set guidelines for special
cases requiring greater access.
In case of a protocol
override, the ideal endpoint solution should have several measures in place,
such as alarms and alerts. Moreover, it should provide an audit trail that
allows administrators to trace unauthorized access to the compromised endpoint.
To round it off, a
good endpoint solution should have a policy management component comprising:
- The option to customize device policies.
- The option to customize user policies.
- Policies in place for protocol overrides.
2. Patch Management
Patches are used to
fix potential system vulnerabilities that, if exploited, could pave the way for
unauthorized access and potential loss of data.
The ideal endpoint
solution should include a patch management component that resolves such weak
areas in your network, allowing you to repair each vulnerability as it’s
detected.
Here are the
components of comprehensive patch management:
- Support for the discovery of vulnerabilities in various
endpoint operating systems and apps.
- Guidelines for creating and deploying patches to remote
devices.
- Patch deployment process.
- The ability to schedule and prioritize patches.
3. Centralized Management and
Configuration System
The key aspect of
managing every network endpoint is to have centralized control over every
connected device. This comes in very handy, particularly in the case of an
emergency in case you may need to lock down or shut off a device.
With a single security management dashboard, administrators can create and edit policies, get timely alerts about suspicious activity,
schedule mass updates, and analyze the usage history for each
endpoint. Other features include:
- Management for exceptions.
- Control over applications.
- Live security updates.
- Remote installation and updating of security software.
- Controls to manage scalability.
4. Advanced Device Control
Once you’ve admitted
an endpoint device to the system, your work is half done. Securing the endpoint
already entails tracking it—but what about external devices connected to the
endpoint?
Advanced device
control allows organizations to monitor external devices, such as those
connected through USB ports. Some systems may also provide the capability to
monitor local disks, CD drives, Bluetooth connections, and cloud storage.
This means that you
can grant system access to certain types of devices, such as a USB-connected
mouse but not a USB-connected hard drive.
Also, such control
supports the encryption of data that is exported outside trusted devices.
Without the encryption key, hackers can’t actually access the data they stole,
essentially rendering it useless. Advanced device control includes:
- Support and monitoring of multiple devices.
- Enforcing access control over USB-mounted devices.
- Enforcing company policies across all workstations and
endpoints.
- Allowing for the transfer of encrypted data outside the
network.
- Support for logging endpoint device activity, even when
a device is offline.
Endpoint Security in a Nutshell
For MSPs, protecting
their client’s endpoints is key to keeping their data secure. As hackers
continue to target confidential company data, it is important to secure every
device connected to the central network to avoid data breaches.
A good MSP security
offering should include endpoint protection alongside other solutions, such as
a backup and disaster recovery program. Not only does this fortify the network
against unauthorized access, but it also ensures that you have a secure backup
that can minimize losses in the event that a data breach occurs.
Need More Information Contact Us
Best Regards ,
Latvik Blog Team
LATVIK TECHNOLOGIES ™
