Your company’s network is only as secure as its endpoints — all the servers, desktops, laptops, phones, and other devices that connect to your internal system.
While endpoint security has always been important, the pandemic has made it an urgent concern. A tremendous shift toward remote work has led to many workers performing sensitive business operations or handling private data on devices outside your company’s usual security perimeter.
Let’s take a peek into modern endpoint security, and then discuss how managed service providers can benefit companies looking to strengthen their defenses.
Endpoint Security in a Nutshell
While these technologies are rapidly changing, two types of solutions stand out in particular: endpoint protection platforms (EPP) and endpoint detection and response (EDR).
EPP
Endpoint protection platforms provide an integrated suite of tools for securing devices. They usually combine several functionalities normally found in separate products, such as virus scanning, email security, firewalls, and data loss prevention.
Unlike those traditional standalone products, an EPP unites its various services and offers centralized management for organizations over all their endpoints.
The malware protection found in an EPP usually involves traditional signature-based or heuristic matching, as well as modern techniques based on machine learning.
EDR
While EPPs effectively consolidate multiple important functions, endpoint detection and response products go a step further. EDR solutions focus on collecting and analyzing data from endpoints and responding automatically to detected threats if possible.
EDR software collects and monitors data from across your organization and may employ advanced AI and machine learning and models, allowing it to better detect and respond to complex threats such as fileless malware.
Endpoint protection technologies are constantly evolving, so not all of these generalizations apply to every product out there. Many vendors sell unified platforms that integrate features that might belong to separate EPP and EDR solutions from other companies.
Managed Endpoint Security
What if you recognize the importance of endpoint security to your business but lack the resources to set up a solution and maintain it with confidence? You can benefit from the services of an IT provider that offers managed endpoint security.
This type of assistance may come from a managed service provider (MSP), a type of company that helps businesses take care of their IT needs by remotely administering and maintaining their systems. They are especially useful for smaller businesses that want to avoid the hassle and expenditures associated with managing an on-premises IT team, or those that wish to keep their in-house effort streamlined and supplement it with outsourcing.
For more specialized help, you may want to work with a managed security service provider (MSSP), a type of IT provider that focuses on security. MSSPs employ more staff that are specifically trained in cybersecurity and have the expertise to effectively monitor your systems for suspicious activity and proactively defend your business.
Most providers offer an initial call or consultation at no cost — a risk-free way to determine what kind of solution will work best for your needs.