Cisco’s Future of Secure Remote Work Report found that only 19% of organizations surveyed had more than half their workforce working remotely before Covid. Post-Covid, that number more than tripled to 62%. That shift has already had a substantial impact on IT infrastructures, as network endpoints now include both company and personal devices used by the on-site and remote workers who are the heart and soul of these businesses.
These changes mean devices are no longer contained within a network perimeter that can be defined and defended. With workers using personal devices—laptops, tablets, and mobile phones—for their jobs, more endpoint vulnerabilities are exposed. Additionally, the rise of internet of things (IoT) devices has added even more endpoint attack surfaces that cybercriminals can penetrate.
Endpoint Vulnerabilities Demand an Effective Antivirus Infrastructure
According to the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, there were 2.8 billion malware attacks—a category that includes viruses—recorded by its customers in the first half of this year. The report also highlights an alarming 77%t increase in IoT malware and a 132% jump in encrypted threats sent via HTTPS. That ties directly to the WatchGuard Q1 2022 Internet Security Report’s finding that over 60% of malware is hidden in encrypted connections.
Your endpoints are where cybercriminals are focusing many of these threats because that can be where you are most vulnerable. Fighting back means taking a new approach to deploying your Antivirus infrastructure.
Antivirus Software Isn’t Enough
While Antivirus software offers some level of protection, it also requires IT time and attention if it’s going to be effective. Given the magnitude of the cyberattack threats—especially in the age of BYOD—it’s virtually impossible for internal IT teams to respond effectively. That’s why it’s worth considering endpoint protection as a service (EPaaS). With EPaaS, deploying and maintaining AV capabilities within your IT infrastructure is simple.
Choose an EPaaS provider that maintains surveillance of events generated at each of your endpoints—including personal devices—watching for suspicious activities and addressing them immediately. The service should also provide you with malware and virus protection, reliable real-time intelligence, fast response times, and continuous threat monitoring.
AI and ML Make All the Difference
When evaluating EPaaS providers, look for a service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to monitor your endpoints for threats. Because endpoint intrusions can work at machine speed on the host device, the service should deploy lightweight, ultra-fast AI directly on client devices. Intrusions should trigger fully automated security playbooks that put fast, coordinated responses into action, stopping malicious processes before they can multiply.
You’ll also want your selected service to offer predictive AI, ML, and next-generation Antivirus solutions that accelerate your response times and tighten your overall security.
Choose Comprehensive EPaaS Protections
Because monitoring, mitigating, and responding to threats are as important as stopping them, look for a comprehensive EPaaS solution that includes:
- 24/7 monitoring and alert notification
- Managed detection and response (MDR)
- Enterprise-wide threat hunting
- Memory exploitation prevention
- Device policy enforcement
- Script management
- Application control for fixed-function devices
- Context-driven threat detection
- On-demand root-cause analysis
- Automated playbook-driven response
- Remote investigation and remediation
Your EPaaS provider should also offer you the flexibility to run EPaaS onsite or from a secure service delivery center.
Enhance Your Overall Security
While EPaaS delivers crucial endpoint protections, strengthening your overall security posture demands an effective, multi-layered cyber defense suite of services. A comprehensive solution expands visibility across your organization’s virtual landscape, from endpoint to network to the cloud, monitoring risks and malicious activity before they can do damage.
With an experienced cyber defense services partner, you can count on expert resources and sophisticated tools that help you prioritize problems as they arise. This service can also take another burden off your IT team, with cybersecurity professionals monitoring your environment 24/7.
We suggest you choose a cyber defense suite of services that includes EPaaS and these crucial protections:
Email Security Protection
Defend against imposter email, phishing, malware, spam, and bulk mail, and secure and control inbound and outbound email with multi-layered threat protection in the cloud. This service ensures email business continuity and scales to meet even the most complex enterprise deployment requirements, with support for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises installations.
Domain Name System Security
Domain name system as a service (DNSaaS) gives you 24/7 monitoring and alerts, providing you with the intelligence and context necessary to continually block threats over any port or protocol—before they reach your network or endpoints.
Firewall/IDS/IPS Monitoring/Alerting
Reviews the thousands of messages generated by your existing firewall, intrusion detection system (IDS), and intrusion prevention system (IPS), sending you alerts as needed. The service also monitors and keeps your IDS/IPS devices up to date so you can quickly identify and respond to threats.
Quarterly Vulnerability Scan
A quarterly vulnerability scan assesses your vulnerabilities and verifies enforcement of security policies without requiring any infrastructure to deploy or manage.
Regardless of the solutions you currently have in place, with threats coming at you from everywhere, it’s well worth looking to outside IT infrastructure and cybersecurity services that bring experience and specialized knowledge. These services help your IT team focus on your core business and innovation instead of trying to stay abreast of an ever-evolving threat landscape.
As always, feel free to contact us anytime – we’re always happy to help.
Ray
