Strengthening Your Endpoint Protection: A Guide

In today's digital landscape, the primary goal of endpoint security remains unchanged - to protect endpoints from a range of cyber threats, such as malware, phishing, and unauthorized access. Endpoint security is the practice of securing computing devices, including desktops, laptops, mobile devices, servers, virtual machines, IoT technology, operational technology, and more.

As work patterns have evolved, so too has the challenge in endpoint security. The rise of hybrid work has made endpoints more portable and exposed than ever before, increasing the complexity of maintaining security. According to the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 70% of breaches originate from endpoints like laptops, desktops, and mobile devices.

To address these challenges, endpoint security solutions have evolved to include endpoint protection platforms (EPP) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions. These solutions provide comprehensive protection against malware, ransomware, phishing, and unauthorized access.

Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) have been developed to build off what was seen as the best aspects of both EDR and antivirus. They monitor the endpoint for known-bad activity and use a variety of detection approaches including signature-based detection, machine learning, and host-based intrusion prevention. When a detection is confirmed, the EPP agent intervenes and prevents the threat from executing.

EDR, on the other hand, was developed as a response to the limitations of traditional antivirus. It focuses on detecting never-before seen threats and threat actors' techniques designed to evade endpoint security. EDR records critical activities on an endpoint and stitches them together to identify behaviors, such as process executions, command line activity, running services, network connections, and file manipulation. When a suspicious or malicious activity is detected, EDR triggers an alert to security professionals, improving their ability to alert only on important detections and allowing for in-depth alert tuning.

EDR solutions also include features that allow security professionals to take actions, individually or automatically, once a detection occurs on the endpoint, such as terminating processes, deleting files, and isolating the host system from the network.

Modern endpoint protection solutions leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to identify previously unseen malicious and anomalous activity based on behavior analysis. This technology is crucial in the ever-evolving threat landscape, where new threats emerge daily.

The use of AI and digital twins for enhanced security is a trend that is gaining traction, with 84% of organizations surveyed currently utilizing next-generation endpoint security solutions, and 49% of organizations using more than one.

Zero trust models, which require ongoing verification of devices and users, are becoming central to endpoint security strategies. This approach ensures that even authenticated users and devices are not automatically trusted, and their identities and access are continuously validated.

In conclusion, endpoint security is a critical aspect of any organization's cybersecurity strategy, especially in the era of hybrid work. By implementing EPP and EDR solutions, organizations can proactively prevent endpoint threats, reduce the cost of a breach, and ensure the continued security of their digital assets.