As the world continues to adapt to the new normal brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat landscape in terms of cybersecurity has become more sophisticated due to the rise of hybrid working. With companies heavily relying on connected devices, cyber criminals have an ever-increasing number of attack surfaces to exploit, making endpoint security more important than ever.
Endpoint security works by protecting end-user devices and the data travelling to and from them, by implementing additional layers of security such as antivirus and malware protection, malicious activity detection, mobile phishing prevention, internet browsing protection, and data encryption. Two of the most common endpoint threats are phishing and ransomware attacks. As phishing attacks can be distributed through genuine applications, securing hardware is no longer sufficient, and instead, companies must remain vigilant with regards to software vulnerabilities and potential threats to online apps.
In order to safeguard all remote endpoints, companies must have a data access policy that defines data classification levels. For instance, personal or financial data can have public, limited, or critical access. Furthermore, all company-issued devices, including mobile phones and tablets, must be equipped with endpoint protection, while employees should be discouraged from using personal devices unless they have suitable company-approved security measures installed.
To ensure compliance, businesses must follow government regulations, industry standards, and software licence agreements, and keep their security and recovery plans updated, as well as their employee education programs, which should be conducted on a regular basis to keep up with new threat intelligence.
One solution to combat the rise of cyber threats is to have a secure communications system for all endpoint devices. This protects data from attackers outside of the organization and ensures that professionals can conduct secure calls and message threads while maintaining complete communication privacy.
Nicole Allen, Senior Marketing Executive at Salt Communications, offers the following recommendations to protect employees and organizations from the latest cyber threats. Firstly, be aware of common web app threats, update all software on a regular basis, and use intrusion prevention systems to secure servers. Secondly, have a data access policy that defines data classification levels, and use user authentication mechanisms to restrict access to data. Thirdly, consider all devices, not just laptops and desktops, in endpoint security protection measures. Fourthly, keep up-to-date with certifications and technology updates to better defend against costly data breaches. Fifthly, update security and recovery plans on a regular basis to reflect any new or changed network infrastructure. And finally, educate all employees on the risks and reinforce security practices on a regular basis to guarantee that everyone plays their part in ensuring network security.
With the rise of hybrid working, companies must remain vigilant in their cyber security measures to protect against the ever-increasing number of attack surfaces employed by cyber criminals. Endpoint security must be made a top priority for all businesses.