Endpoint Security Services: What Are They and Why Do You Need Them?
There are more endpoints today than any year prior due to increased employees working remotely, creating opportunities for cybercriminals to attack vulnerabilities and steal company data. Protecting your endpoint devices has never been more crucial, with the average data breach cost in the United States reaching as high as $9.44 million as of 2022. Luckily, endpoint security services provide unwavering device protection and prevent catastrophes from impacting your business.
But what exactly are they, and what do they do?
Read on to discover more about endpoint security services and their impact on your business, including the following:
- What are endpoint security services?
- Why are endpoint security services necessary?
- How does endpoint security work?
- The advantages of endpoint security services
- How First Class Connection can tighten your endpoint security
What Are Endpoint Security Services?
Endpoint security, sometimes called endpoint protection, is cybersecurity that focuses on securing endpoints—laptops, smartphones, and additional devices—from potential cyberattacks and other external threats. Unsecured endpoints create openings in a network’s security and opportunity to criminals. Endpoint security systems protect devices on company networks or the cloud by minimizing the number of entry points attackers could exploit. With managed endpoint services, your devices and data receive the highest level of protection without expending any of your in-house IT department’s resources.
Endpoint Examples
A network endpoint is any device connecting to a company’s network from outside its protected firewall. Types of devices include:
- Servers
- Laptops
- Desktops
- Scanners
- Tablets
- Internet-of-things (IoT) devices
- Smartphones
- Point of sale (PoS) systems
- Digital printers
- Smart wearable devices
Why Are Endpoint Security Services Necessary?
As technology evolves and more employees adopt remote or hybrid work schedules, additional endpoints are created, giving cybercriminals more opportunities to attack entry points and steal valuable data. With new threats emerging daily, it has become highly challenging for businesses to secure their ever-growing endpoints. However, failing to properly do so can lead to hacking, phishing, and malware infections that threaten to access and exploit your data. Data breaches can devastate businesses, not only costing them millions of dollars in damages but tarnishing their reputation in the process and preventing them from working with future clients.
All companies are at risk, but large ones may pose more of a challenge to criminals. While attacking a small company may not seem worth the risk or effort, they generally have weaker security and make for easier targets. The size of your business is inconsequential to cybercriminals, and neglecting your endpoint security is simply not worth the risk of having your data tampered with. For companies that can’t keep up with the expansion of remote devices and the vulnerabilities they pose, endpoint security services aren’t just worth consideration—they’re essential.
How Does Endpoint Security Work?
Endpoint protection platforms (EPP) assess processes, files, and system activity for signs of potential threats. Organizations can install them on their devices using a centralized management console, allowing administrators to monitor and respond to threats in real time. The software utilized by security services often includes features such as:
- Machine learning
- Antimalware and antivirus software
- Threat intelligence
- Email gateways
- Advanced encryption
- Integrated firewalls
Managing endpoint security can be challenging, given its complexity. With managed security services, company endpoints are secured for you by leading industry experts.
Types of Endpoint Security Services
Endpoint security services can be implemented in several ways, allowing companies to choose the best option for their users without interfering with their daily tasks. Solutions include:
- Cloud-Based Solutions: Cloud-based solutions allow administrators to manage endpoints using a centralized console within the cloud that connects to users’ mobile devices remotely. They offer a wide range of security, with advanced threat detection and solutions available to all IoT devices connecting to the organization’s network.
- On-Premise Solutions: As the traditional endpoint method, on-premise solutions use a local data center for protection instead of the cloud’s remote security. Localized endpoint management services can continuously monitor devices connected to your corporate network but not those accessed off the premises. While this may be more restrictive than cloud-based solutions, it is sometimes required for certain compliance obligations.
- Hybrid Solutions: Hybrid solutions utilize both on-premise and cloud-based endpoint security services. They are ideal for companies requiring local endpoint protection but also implement a work-from-home policy where users can access sensitive information.
The Advantages of Endpoint Security Services
Companies that choose to hire endpoint security services can expect many improvements and benefits that protect their assets and provide additional performance boosts. Here are some of the most common advantages of using endpoint security services:
Cost Effective
Hiring endpoint security services is affordable and cost-effective, especially when you factor in the savings gained by reducing extensive data loss and recovery times. Less downtime also allows your employees to continue with their daily procedures and generate income for the company, as opposed to negatively impacting its bottom line.
Loss Reduction
Protecting your endpoints with security services makes you less likely to experience data loss. Data that falls into the wrong hands can be used to exploit companies with a ransom, leaked to the public, or deleted forever, but minimizing this risk allows work operations to continue without interruption.
Maintained Reputation
Companies that undergo frequent cyberattacks aren’t viewed as reputable as others, as nobody wants to work with a company that can’t protect their information. Securing your endpoints with security services keeps your data safe and protected, preventing your reputation from taking blows that could cause you to lose business and, in turn, cut your profits.
Advanced Threat and Vulnerability Detection
You get what you pay for with endpoint security services. As security experts, professionals have robust threat and vulnerability detection methods that stop disasters before they can occur.
Streamlined Cybersecurity
One of the most significant benefits of endpoint services is having a fully managed and responsive security system that is controlled remotely. Rather than spending vital resources monitoring and maintaining your company devices for vulnerabilities and threats, a trusted team of experts can do it for you. Doing so can keep your business on schedule and avoid road bumps caused by preventable cyberattacks.
Learn More About Endpoint Security With First Class Connection
If you’re considering hiring endpoint security services for your company devices and want to learn more before committing to a service, First Class Connection is here to help. Having supported clients nationwide for nearly a decade, our team of security experts can answer any questions you may have in a digestible and enlightening manner to help you make an informed decision about whether endpoint security aligns with your company’s business model.
Want to know more about endpoint security? Contact First Class Connection today. We offer advanced security solutions to protect clients using our endpoint protection platform, which includes system visibility, encryption, threat detection, monitoring, and more—and we want to do the same for you.