What Is Endpoint Security in cybersecurity? Why is it important? 

What Is Endpoint Security?

Endpoint security is all about securing end users and their devices. It covers workstations/desktops, laptops, servers, smartphones etc.  

An organization’s endpoint may contain sensitive and confidential information or personally identifiable information. So, endpoint security serves as an effective defense against threat actors targeting to steal them. 

How does Endpoint Security Protection Work? 

Endpoint security works by securing the workflow and data of an organization by comparing the data exchanged in the network against the threat intelligence database stored on the cloud to identify suspicious activities.   

What is the function of endpoint security? 

It quickly detects suspicious threats like malware and provides additional control for securing endpoints such as monitoring, detection, and response to threats preparing an organization for sophisticated threats like – ransomware attacks, fileless malware, identity, and cloud-based attacks. 

It is controlled by a system administrator through a centralized management console installed on-premises, cloud, or network.   The console provides security controls for all the connected devices. Endpoint security also establishes application control that prevents users from downloading unauthorized app locations on their own and only allows them to download authorized applications.  

What are some common types of endpoint security threats? 

• Data Breaches 
• Ransomware Attacks 
• Denial of Service Attacks 
• Viruses 
• Malware  
• Snooping

Why Is Endpoint Security Important for an organization? 

Endpoint security is important for an organization because it secures all its sensitive data and workflow stored across endpoints.  Here are some points that reflect the importance of endpoint security in an organization: 

• It secures all the sensitive data of an organization like company secrets, employee details, etc.  
• It provides first-layer security at the end-user level 
• It defends endpoints from evolving threats by continuously scanning the data and workflow against the latest database of threat intelligence  
• Endpoint security makes it difficult for cybercriminals to engage in gaining access to the organizational network by using endpoints as entry and exit points 
• Rapid adoption of remote and hybrid work environments that demand security that goes beyond perimeter security this is where endpoint security comes into the picture 
• Endpoint security solutions like XDR assist organizations with more in-depth visibility of posture across endpoints through data ingestion, analysis, and correlation assisting organizations to automate response to threats and suspicious at the end-user level 
• Secures business from the consequences of an attack including loss of data and reputational damage 

What are the benefits of business endpoint protection?  

The following are the benefits of business endpoint protection: 

• Saves from the cost of damages from cyber attacks 
• Assists businesses in establishing security in remote operations  
• Mitigates the risk of data loss  
• Secures IoT and other smart devices connected to the network 
• Offers centralized visibility of all the end-users and the devices connected to the network 

What the three main types of endpoint security? 

The following are the main types of endpoint security  

1. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)  
2. Extended Detection and Response (XDR) 
3. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) 

What is EDR?  

It is an Endpoint Security Solution that proactively detects and identifies advanced threats. It utilizes its machine learning capabilities to predict and detect the occurrence of suspicious threat activity based on a big database of threat intelligence.    

What is XDR? 

An Extended Detection and Response solution is an evolved version of EDR with more ease of adaptability and extends visibility beyond endpoints, extending to cloud workloads, networks, servers, and others. It engages in the ingestion of data from multiple sources for precise, context-based detection of threats.  

What Is MDR?  

Managed Detection and Response or MDR is a human-led managed service that provides a dedicated team of cybersecurity experts who work on specific goals. It is a useful service for organizations that don’t have their own security teams, tools, and resources to address their cybersecurity goals. 

What are the other types of endpoint protection? 

The other common types of endpoint security protection methods include: 

• Anti-virus 
• Firewall 
• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) 
• Data Loss Prevention  
• Application Whitelisting  
• User Entity & Behavior Analytics (UEBA) 
• Network Access Control 
• Endpoint Encryption 
• Mobile Device Management  
• IoT security 
• Vulnerability Management 
• Insider Threat Detection 

What is the difference between endpoint security and antivirus? 

Anti-virus detects and responds to threats based on signatures or behaviors like malware and viruses, whereas endpoint security also caters to other more modern and sophisticated threats with more advanced features like data encryption, firewall management, machine learning-based prediction of suspicious activities, etc.   

Both antivirus and endpoint security are used together for more holistic security against modern-day threats that leverage multiple threat vectors to carry out an attack.   

Anti-virus vs Endpoint security solutions

Anti-virus	Endpoint Security Solutions
Detects threats based on known signatures and behaviors like malware and viruses	Caters to threats beyond malware and viruses and addresses modern threats like ransomware, phishing, polymorphic malware, fileless malware, etc.
Limited to a single endpoint	Covers all endpoints including desktops, laptops, servers, smartphones, tablets, etc.
Relies on comparing data sets with database of signatures of viruses and malware to detect suspicious activities	In addition to utilizing the latest threat intelligence, endpoint security includes hunting, detection, and response to threats. It also comprises of dedicated features made to proactively catch and avert modern day threats.
Scheduled scanning	Automatically scans the environment for threats periodically
Is ineffective in recognizing threats disguised as ambiguous programs	Effectively tests the true nature of ambiguous programs through sandboxing by creating a digital replica environment for testing programs.

Endpoint Security vs Endpoint Protection 

People often think that endpoint security and endpoint protection are different, however, both are different terms used to describe the same concept of keeping endpoint secured from cyber threats.  

Endpoint Security Features 

Now that we have understood how endpoint protection works let us explore some of the core features that make up an effective endpoint security.  

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and Encryption 
• Continuous monitoring, detection, and instantaneous response to threats 
• Email Threat Protection  
• Machine learning-based threat prediction and scanning of data and workflows  
• Integrated Threat Intelligence 
• Protection against exploitation of vulnerabilities (including zero-day exploits) 
• Quick alerting and comprehensive reporting of threats  
• Centralized control of applications, blocking the user from downloading unauthorized applications 
• Incident response tools for containment, remediation, and recovery 

What are Endpoint security best practices? 

Here are the best practices for endpoint security include: 

• Enable data encryption 
• Add a layer of defense with an endpoint protection platform (EPP) and antivirus 
• Set policies for setting strong passwords and periodically changing passwords 
• Implement a zero-trust policy for access 
• Create an incident response plan for containment, remediation, and recovery 
• Bridge awareness gaps in security by conducting Security Awareness Training sessions across different levels of the organization