In today’s date, organizations continue to decentralize, adding up the firms and remote employees. Due to this latest scenario, Cyber threats are increasing in a drastic manner without any break. It demands enhancement in the security measures and lots of standards to improve endpoint security. This is required to compete with the updated versions of phishing attacks, Ransomware, and other trending cloud computing attacks.
Is It Really Necessary to Improve Endpoint Security?
Endpoint network security is considered as one of the frustrating factors in Cybersecurity. It is so because the threats are either vague or unknown. Logmein.com, a software company, found that there is around 30 percent of IT departments are not aware of the fact that how many endpoints are present in their organization. Isn’t that shocking? The current scenario says that hackers have become harpoons toward the new prime targets. Hackers find it a big opportunity for them when they encounter an old PC with an older edition of security apps. It becomes easier for internet criminals to enter these kinds of old computers and hence, perform a data breach or Cybercrime.
“It’s time to say ‘no means no’ to Cyberthreats by enhancing endpoint network protection level in your business.”
Points to Be Considered to Improve Endpoint Security
- Create An All-Encompassing Data Standard – One of the most fundamental aspects businesses can do is to establish protocols in their premises for data storage, access, and use. It has been noticed that many companies lack in achieving this basic level of endpoint security solution. Well, the documentation of policy should outline stages of data classifications like restricted data (might be company’s secretive data), public data, and critical data (maybe customer’s records or financial information). After completing up the stage of data classification, next is to define users or departments that have the legal rights to access each field and create the authentication protocols. These protocols can be any like two-factor authentication. In the scenario of data exposure, it should be capable of addressing the chain of command and delineate who should be informed.
- Update Network Products and IoT Devices – Another point to improve endpoint security involve basic protection measures for IoT devices and printers, which are connected with the network. Usually, these systems have default settings and passwords in them that make it easy for hackers to target them. Therefore, companies need to ensure that they change the default passwords as well as enhance the existing settings of the software system. Organizations working on the Microsoft Windows operating system can develop ADR (Automatic deployment rules) to update or patch computer groups. Also, there are free app updaters available in today’s CyberWorld, which help in doing the respective job more rapidly and flawlessly.
- Enforce Data Encryption Algorithms all Time – The critical and restricted information that is saved on the servers or in the cloud should always be encrypted. It is important to ensure that each and every business information is secured with strong encryption security algorithms, even at the rest mode. Cloud data encryption is one of the best ways to improve endpoint security because it forces hackers to deal with lots of tantrums and hence, keep them away from encrypted files. Companies have to encrypt their information in transmit as well as rest mode. Never keep your data unsecured even at rest mode.
- Adopt An Endpoint Protection Software – Basic endpoint security devices like firewalls and antivirus products have been available in the marketplace for years. While antivirus products are good to capture established Cyber threats, which have been blacklisted. The growing sophistication of phishing attacks, which changes with every cybercrime has sent the rates of detection. Also, firewalls have their own place on the premises but, they also comprise of vulnerabilities in them. The recent version is the development of highly-advanced products, which have artificial intelligence and behavioral analysis in them. It is required to address confidential information and keep it safe from being stolen or misused. Popularly known security-as-a-service providers like CloudCodes, Okta, OneLogin, etc., are available on the internet to help business clients with automated advanced solutions to improve endpoint security solutions.
- Organize Security Awareness Campaign – The final stage of this entire scenario is to ensure that everyone in the organization is known of the consequences of cybercrime and on the same stage in aspects of vigilance. An important education device should be delivered to all employees, which comprises basics like how to address phishing messages in an email account, password safety measures, and others. This type of awareness program should not be done only once; instead, it should be conducted on a quarterly basis on-premises.
To Be Secured, Be Updated
Applying the above listed five points to improve endpoint security level for the current situation is fine. But forgetting them afterward in the future is a big cloud computing security challenge. We the Cybersecurity experts of CloudCodes strongly recommend readers to regularly check these points on monthly basis and be known about what’s going on in today’s CyberWorld.