Endpoint security solutions are cybersecurity measures designed to protect endpoints, such as desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and servers, from cyber threats. These solutions safeguard networks by preventing malware, unauthorized access, and data breaches.
An endpoint is any device that connects to any network. Some endpoints are connected exclusively to one, internal network like an office PC. Securing this is more a matter of network security than anything else.
(Since the device’s only access to malware is via the corporate network it connects to.)
Now consider an average company mobile device or laptop. It can connect to a whole host of different networks, from the local cafe to a client’s office. This means the cybersecurity team can’t rely on the network to keep it secure – a degree of protection is required on the endpoint itself.
This is the basic mission statement of an endpoint security solution: Running locally off the endpoint device itself, it’s able to monitor all underlying processes for suspicious files and behavior.
While monitoring the endpoint, the endpoint security solution is relaying all the information it finds back to the enterprise’s cybersecurity team. This is one (of many) reasons to not use enterprise equipment for personal calls, messages, or online searches.
At the backend, cybersecurity analysts are able to monitor this endpoint behavior in near-real-time.
It’s a very scalable approach, as the number of laptops, for instance, increases, an endpoint security solution is able to aggregate all of this data with ease, and make sure they’re all running the latest patches, and steering clear of malicious downloads.
Automated alerts mean analysts can quickly respond to any oversights.
Making this more complex is the sheer variety of endpoint devices. Internet of Things (IoT) are tiny devices that monitor other pieces of infrastructure: they’re often connected to critical components, making them a natural target for attackers.
But, because they’re so lightweight, it can be hard for traditional endpoint solutions to deploy on them. This is why it’s easy for endpoint security to devolve into a mish-mash of multiple solutions and constant alerts.
The types of endpoint security can drastically change, depending on the types of threats they’re looking to prevent. Let’s break down popular endpoint security solutions into their core types and showcase their key features.
Antivirus software is one of the oldest and most well-established forms of endpoint security. It works via a three-step process:
A core feature of anti-virus is this signature-based protection.
This database of malware signatures is maintained by the antivirus provider, which is why it’s often best to select a tried-and-tested antivirus provider. A more advanced version of this is Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV): this uses behavioral detection to identify threats based on file behavior, rather than signature alone.
EDR is one of the most established approaches to endpoint protection, as it pushes the protection of NGAV one step further. While NGAV monitors the individual files on every endpoint, EDR uses all data through integration with Security Information Event Management (SIEM), which includes:
This is made possible by an EDR agent, installed directly onto the endpoint. EDR features center heavily around these two things:
Rather than condensing endpoint security into malware identification, EDR is often able to use its endpoint behavioral awareness to spot more malicious attack campaigns, like account takeover and phishing.
Focusing explicitly on corporate mobiles, MDM takes a device-focused approach – unlike the user-centric strategies found in mobile security and unified endpoint management. In an MDM program, employees may be issued dedicated work devices, such as laptops or smartphones, or they can enroll their personal devices remotely.
Devices are then equipped with role-based access to enterprise data and email, along with features like:
While EDR has proved itself as a solution, the growth of unified platforms is allowing lean teams to maximize their visibility and cross-reference potential issues right from the source. UEM systems solve the issue of security tools splintering and becoming unmanageable, by pulling information from all security tools into one platform.
When implemented properly, endpoint security offers a great protective potential.
The majority of cyber threats are opportunistic in nature: a cyber attacker is almost always looking to maximize their ROI on each attack, and there’s no higher return than on a recycled piece of malware or phishing message.
This is how even the more basic signature-based protection can go a long way to reducing the attack surface.
Traditionally, managing a cyberattack would put every other business unit on hold. Ransomware is one of the worst offenders, bringing systems down almost completely
EDR also grants business continuity in the most literal sense: the chance of a cyberattack bringing an enterprise to its knees is not insignificant. Small and medium businesses are particularly vulnerable; one of the more infamous recent was an attack on currency provider Travelex in 2020.
Since endpoint security solutions can take so many different forms, it’s key to highlight the universal best practices that allow endpoint security to function.
Whether your endpoint solution does this automatically or not, an endpoint inventory is the bare minimum of protection: only with this in place is it possible to identify any holes in the defense surface.
One of the most basic components of any endpoint protection scheme is Identity and Access Management (IAM).
While there are endpoint protection software that can identify and quarantine an account that’s been hijacked, it’s far more time, risk, and cost-effective to simply keep attackers away from accounts in the first place. Achieve this by enforcing strong authentication methods, like:
Ideally, IAM controls should scale in accordance to the level of access each account has.
Having an endpoint security solution that monitors everything 24/7 isn’t quite enough: you need someone to be at the helm. This ideally would be a team, in-house or remote, but the precise responsibilities of each component need to be delegated according to each analyst’s own skill sets.
If you’re working with a lean cyber security team, automation can help by handling the repetitive, time-consuming chores, like regular patching.
While technical goings-on are invaluable for preventing attacks, it’s worth considering the unpatchable part: people. Employees should be kept up to date on the social engineering attacks that face their specific endpoints and roles:
Choosing the right endpoint security tool can be an intimidating task; it’s why you need to identify the relevant endpoints, users, and cybersecurity team’s capabilities before interacting with potential solutions.
If you’ve already built a cohesive set of requirements, consider which options align with them. If unified, full-stack monitoring and response capabilities are part of this, Check Point Harmony includes Data Loss Prevention through AI tools, email phishing defense, and full mobile security within a single tool.
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