Cyber attacks in today’s digital world are growing increasingly more terrifying. It seems as though there’s a new data breach in the news every week, and another form of scam or security threat making the rounds on a monthly basis. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the cyber threats facing the world right now, you’re not alone. Studies show that cyberattacks increased by more than 50% in the last couple of years. To make matters worse, the evidence shows that no-one is safe. Everyone from everyday consumers to big global enterprises could be the victim of an attack. Part of staying secure in today’s unpredictable landscape, is knowing where your biggest vulnerabilities lie. Right now, that means paying more attention to endpoint protection. What is Endpoint Protection? For many of us, the quest for better cyber security starts with looking at firewalls, VPNs, and antivirus protection software. However, it’s important not to overlook perhaps the most vulnerable part of your ecosystem: the endpoints. Endpoints are the devices connected to your digital network, ranging from your smartphone to your smart speaker. In an increasingly connected world, endpoints with internet connections are virtually everywhere. There are even internet-ready refrigerators. According to experts, endpoints represent one of the most vulnerable points in any security system, because they’re often left unprotected. Around 70% of security breaches start in endpoints, but 42% of the endpoints connected to the web are left unprotected. As we continue to use more “connected” devices on a daily basis, thanks to the rise of trends like “The Internet of Things”, this has prompted an increase in criminals targeting endpoints specifically to gain access to personal and corporate networks. Endpoint protection is the name given to the specialist services designed to defend your endpoints from these attacks, and give you more control over your network.
How Does Endpoint Protection Work?
Endpoint security solutions are designed to protect various entry points in a home or business from being accessed by criminals. Tools like RAV endpoint protection provide end-to-end visibility into all of the endpoints connected to any network at any given time, as well as what those endpoints are doing. This means you can easily see whether an unknown person is trying to access your details through a connection to your smartphone or laptop. Endpoint security systems take a multi-level approach to protecting users. The first step is simply monitoring your network, and determining which devices should be allowed access to your internet connection. These tools can also implement strategies like machine learning to create databases of information over time, identifying secure, and unsecured connections. Intelligent endpoint connection systems can keep a constant watch over your network ecosystem, shutting down attempted connections from unrecognized entities, and alerting you when something unusual is happening in your household.
Why is Endpoint Protection Important?
While new threats are emerging in the digital landscape all the time, endpoints remain to be one of the main vulnerabilities in the connected ecosystem for a lot of users. The unfortunate truth is that endpoints are often “easy targets” because they lack the controlled security you would get with the endpoint itself. It’s much easier to hack into a smartphone and use that device to uncover a person’s banking details, than it is to hack into their broadband connection. Endpoints are also constantly evolving and updating to become more powerful. While the latest changes to your smart speaker could make it more convenient, it could also open the door to issues in your security standing that you wouldn’t be aware of. By gaining access to an endpoint, a criminal can potentially look at all of your passwords and usernames for banking apps, email addresses, and other essential tools, and take over your life in a couple of minutes. Yet endpoints continue to be one of the least protected tools in our digital world.
How to Upgrade Your Endpoint Protection
A full security strategy for 2022 and beyond is an important consideration or anyone who accesses the internet on a regular basis. If you want to keep your details protected at a time when cyber crime is accelerating, you need a full end-to-end strategy, that covers everything from Wi-Fi network protection to endpoint defence.
To make sure your endpoints are properly protected this year:
Know what needs protecting: Start by identifying all of the endpoints in your environment which need to be defended. While some products, like your laptop, might have their own firewall, they still need to be covered by endpoint protection. Don’t forget to consider smart appliances like speakers and televisions too.
Choose the right endpoint protection: A comprehensive endpoint protection software should work alongside your antivirus, malware, and ransomware tools to give you complete protection wherever you are. Look for a service which comes with artificial intelligence baked in, so your endpoint strategy can become increasingly more efficient over time.
Monitor your endpoints: Pay attention to what’s going on in your endpoint ecosystem using your available endpoint protection tools. Learn how to whitelist and blacklist different connections, and set up alerts so you know when someone is trying to access your technology.
Use complimentary tools: Remember, endpoint protection is powerful, but it’s not designed to do everything on its own. Make sure your endpoint protection system works with all of the other antivirus technologies you’re also using to defend yourself.
Remember, it’s important to keep up-to-date too. Being aware of the latest hacker news and cybersecurity attacks in your area should help you to build a more effective defence strategy against them.
