Endpoint protection is a must-have for any business, but it’s not enough to keep your organisation safe. A recent study showed 68% of companies have experienced at least one endpoint attack that compromised their data. In today’s ever-evolving digital world, businesses need to be proactive in their cyber security efforts and have multiple layers of security in place.
Without an advanced security solution that includes more than just endpoint protection, your business may be at risk of data breaches, malware, and other cyber threats.
What is endpoint protection?
Endpoint protection is a type of cyber security solution that protects computers, mobile devices, and other endpoints from malware and cyber threats. Endpoint protection solutions can be installed on employees’ devices to provide malware scanning, firewall protection, and other security features.
Most endpoint protection solutions include antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall, device control, and HIPS (host intrusion prevention system). They can also be extended with other security features, such as web protection, email security, intrusion prevention, data loss prevention, and more.
However, while endpoint protection is a necessary security solution, it should not be solely relied upon to protect your data, systems, and network.
Does not provide full coverage
While endpoint protection solutions do an excellent job of detecting and preventing threats, they’re not a full coverage solution. Endpoint protection solutions are not designed to protect your network and other assets, such as servers and routers. They also do not stop attacks targeting your data in motion, such as while it’s being transferred between two points.
Another common misconception is that endpoint protection is the same as network protection. While endpoint protection is focused on stopping threats on the device level, network protection focuses on blocking threats to the entire network. Therefore, endpoint protection alone is not enough to keep your organisation safe.
Can be bypassed by attackers
Even if you have the best endpoint protection, it can be bypassed by attackers. For example, advanced malware can be capable of removing endpoint protection. Additionally, if you don’t have proper patch management in place, attackers can bypass endpoint protection by exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities in your software.
These types of issues occur when businesses fail to keep their devices and software up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates. If you rely on endpoint protection alone, you’re putting your organisation at risk of data breaches and other cyber threats.
Does not provide real-time insights
With endpoint protection, you may not know about the attack until it’s too late. Since endpoint protection protects your devices, network traffic may appear normal even if an attack is staged against your network. That’s because it’s designed to look for malicious activity that targets your devices and not the network traffic flowing in and out of your organisation.
Does not cover insider threats
Endpoint protection solutions only protect your devices from external threats. They do not monitor your network activity or alert you when an insider threat is staged against your organisation.
Endpoint protection is not designed to detect and prevent insider threats. This puts your organisation’s data at risk of being stolen by insiders who may have malicious intent. The risk of insider threats is particularly high for organisations that rely on remote workers and contractors who may have access to sensitive data.
Get full cyber security protection with expert help
When choosing a security solution for your organization, it’s important to remember that endpoint protection is only one piece of the puzzle. In order to protect your business from all cyber threats, you need a multi-layered security approach that includes endpoint protection, network protection, and cloud-based protection.
The cyber security specialists at Itopia can fully audit your IT environment and provide you with advice, guidance, and support to deploy the right security solutions for your needs.
