Securing Enterprise Networks by using endpoint security

India witnessed the digital revolution a long time ago and is in the process to digitize a large number of things. India's economy is taking full advantage of digitization in a variety of disciplines and industries. However, there is a bitter side to this wonderful revolution some of the hazards associated with digitalization include hacking, interrupting, manipulating, and tampering with technology or digital platforms. India has been the target of hundreds of painstakingly planned cyber-attacks in the recent past.

According to data shared by the government, India saw approximately 1.16 million cyber-attacks in 2020, with a median of 3,137 cyber security incidents recorded every day of the year. According to an Inc42 article, 66 percent of Indian companies have experienced a minimum of one data leakage or cyber assault since implementing a remote working style during the pandemic. With more enterprises adopting a work-from-home mentality or using personal devices for work, the necessity for robust cybersecurity systems has increased considerably.

Cyberattacks are increasingly targeting endpoints or end-user devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, PCs, and tablets that had access to business networks. This new menace of cybercrime prompted businesses to reconsider their cybersecurity measures.

Endpoint security is frequently referred to as cybersecurity's frontline, and it is one of the first places businesses look to defend their networks. Endpoint security prevents hostile actors and campaigns from exploiting endpoints or entry points of end-user devices such as PCs, laptops, and mobile devices. Endpoint security solutions protect cybersecurity risks on a network or in the cloud. The demand for increasingly advanced endpoint security solutions has grown with the volume and sophistication of cybersecurity attacks.

For various reasons, an endpoint protection platform is essential to organizational cybersecurity. To begin with, data is a firm's most important asset in today's corporate environment, and losing that data, or access to that data, might put the entire organization at risk of insolvency. Businesses also have to deal with an increase in the number of endpoint types. These issues make organizational endpoint security more difficult, but they're exacerbated by remote work and BYOD policies, which render perimeter protection ineffective and expose vulnerabilities. Hackers continuously develop new ways to access, steal information, or trick people into giving out important information. Thus the threat landscape is becoming more complex.

Considering the opportunity, the cost of reallocating resources from business goals to threats, the reputational cost of a large-scale breach, and the actual financial cost of compliance violations. It's easy to see why endpoint protection platforms have become must-haves in securing modern enterprises.

Some common endpoint security technologies are:

1. Endpoint Detection and Response or EDR

Endpoint Detection and Response, or EDR, is an endpoint security solution that continuously monitors and collects data from endpoints. It then analyses and responds to threats automatically using pre-programmed criteria.

All the above procedures occur in real-time, so if danger is discovered on an endpoint, it is instantly identified and dealt with.

2. Browser security

Browser security, rather than security technology, can be considered a set of steps to secure web browsers used on endpoints. Browser security can be improved by employing tactics such as website blacklisting and whitelisting, keeping your browser up to date, and adopting private and secure browsers, among others.

3. Antivirus

Antivirus has been a part of the endpoint security picture for a long time. Antivirus software hasn't changed much throughout the years. Traditional and Next-gen/Next-generation Antivirus are the two primary forms of antivirus.

Since the 1980s and 1990s, traditional antivirus has been safeguarding endpoints. This antivirus is typically used to detect and remove known threats such as malware and trojans. Traditional antiviruses detect known threats using a signature-based method.

4. Email security

Email security is vital for both personal and business emails. This is because emails are used to create practically every new account, subscription, or social media account, and if your email is hijacked, the consequences can be disastrous.

Corporate emails may contain sensitive information that might be disastrous if it falls into the wrong hands. Many dangers are transmitted as links in emails and downloaded as spyware, malware, and other hazards.

On a personal level, some security advice includes having strong passwords, updating passwords frequently, utilizing spam filters, and being cautious when opening emails from unfamiliar senders.

Email encryption, multi-factor authentication, secure email gateways, and backups of crucial information and documents are all standard email security measures.

5. Encryption

One of the most often utilized security solutions is data encryption. Data encryption converts readable data into an unreadable format using an encryption key. You can assure that the data is safe even if it is taken by doing so. Only the key can be used to decode the encoded data.

6. Device wipe

When it comes to endpoint security, a device wipe is a final resort. If an organization's endpoints are under assault and there is no way to protect the data on those devices, deleting them would be the best solution.

Only consider device wiping if there is no alternative method to save the data on the device. Keep in mind that after a device has been deleted, the data on it cannot be recovered. As a result, always ensure that you backup your important data.

This article has been written by Mr. Sanjeev Chhabra, MD & CEO, Beetel Teletech Limited.