What is Endpoint Security?

According to Gartner within the commercial scope, endpoint security is “A solution deployed on an endpoint device to prevent file-based malware attacks, detect malicious activity, and provide the investigation and remediation capabilities needed to respond to dynamic security incidents and alerts.” (Gartner, 2017). A more consumerized definition, also from Gartner states that Endpoint Security speaks to “a solution that converges endpoint device security functionality into a single product that delivers antivirus, anti-spyware, personal firewall, application control and other styles of host intrusion prevention (for example, behavioural blocking) capabilities into a single and cohesive solution.” (Gartner 2015)

Why is Endpoint Security so important in the corporate world?

All devices, such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and even servers in a data centre are recognised as endpoints and supply an entry point for the threats to their respective network. As defined earlier the primary objective of endpoint security is to adequately secure every endpoint connecting to a network to block unauthorised access and malicious attempts to enter and affect an enterprise’s network infrastructure. As more companies assume practices such as BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) and facilitate mobile (remote) employees, their network’s security perimeter has significantly been reduced as a result.

Endpoint security provides centralized security controls with additional protection at the point of entry for many attacks as well as the point of exit for sensitive data from an enterprise’s network. The steady increase in mobile threats over the last 10 years has demanded the need for more resilient endpoint security measures within the corporate environment as staff members now depending on remotely-enabling devices to connect the company’s networks and fulfil their duties. Any compromising of these devices (endpoints) may lead to an organization becoming vulnerable to cybercrime-related activities such as DDoS (Denial of Service), Cyberterrorism, Data Compromise, Social Engineering, Spamming, Phishing and ransomware to name a few. It is these cyber-crime related activities through defects in endpoint security that will holistically have a negative effect on business continuity.

Conclusion: How does ES affect business continuity?

Business continuity is a very wide and self-explaining category, as its name suggests it speaks to how corporate enterprise or even social societies continue to evolve and adapt throughout time to maintain relevance and completeness within its industry. Even though it can be stated that they are many sub-categories of information security that may affect corporate business continuity, there’s no doubt that endpoint security would be classified as a key category based on current global trends in the cyber security world. The lack of a proper endpoint security framework and controls within an organization could potentially lead to a compromise by one or more of the earlier mentioned cybercrime-related activities. It is the damage (such as reputational damage and loss in revenue due to fraud) done by these cybercriminal activities which will have a significant contributing impact on an organization’s business continuity regime.