(Editor’s Note: Gary Stevens, a technology writer, is posting as a guest author to carbonblack.com)
Despite the global COVID-19 response and current recommendations for social distancing, institutions, enterprises and businesses still need to function and maintain all necessary operations where possible.
With an increasingly mobile workforce, new threats to the cybersecurity of remote workers arises proportionately as cyber criminals have already embraced the chaos by launching trojans, fake apps and websites, cryptominers, ransomware and launching phishing attacks it seems they are only getting started. The focus now moves to endpoint security and the ability to keep remote workers safe.
Endpoints are the points of access to enterprise networks and may be used by cyber criminals to gain entry to networks/servers. While most enterprises now make use of cloud services to ensure the safety of their data, as 99% of companies that rely on the cloud for data storage have never suffered a breach, endpoint security software and the combined use of VPNs can ensure endpoint compliance and assist companies to maintain control over the growing number and different types of access points to their networks.
In this way, endpoint protection combines user analysis and the corresponding system behavior to detect any online threats and responds with immediate action to block or contain them.
VPNs and Endpoint Security
VPNs allow you to scale your endpoint security capacity to include the cloud and remote workers by contributing to the visibility of your endpoints through encryption. As hackers are adept at avoiding detection, the visibility of the endpoints connected to your network becomes incredibly important when taking into account the current explosive growth of remote workforces and decentralized operating hours and business locations.
By mandating VPN use, you can ensure that your remote workers have the same level of cybersecurity as on-premise employees, even in instances where they might make use of public WiFi, a current hacker magnet when it comes to mobile devices.
On the other hand, education of new remote workers is equally important. Inform them of the most common attacks and help them understand how spam and phishing works. Remember that some or most of these workers have never substantially worked from their homes before and they may not understand all the security requirements needed to make remote work safe and easy.
It goes without saying that different VPNs offer different integrations and different levels of security. Security professionals should find a VPN that fits their organizations’ specific requirements and other cybersecurity solutions by looking at factors like operating systems, connecting devices and their specific industry. Some quality VPNs can even be had for little to no cost, but security is not typically the right place for cost cutting. According to security researcher Will Ellis, organizations transitioning their workforce to remote-only should be extremely selective about the free VPNs given to employees.
Most organizations might find that the time has come to build a better security solution altogether. When looking at the big picture it is imperative that your endpoint security provide a consistent level of security for each device connected to your network.
How the VMware Carbon Black Cloud Protects Remote Workers
The VMware Carbon Black Cloud is a cloud-native endpoint protection platform (EPP) that delivers the entire protection cycle, from harden and prevent to detect and respond to companies globally.
This platform was recognized as a 2019 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP). The remote worker in today’s critical situation, needs more than a malware blocker if they are accessing important data or systems remotely.
As cyber criminals are refining their attacking methods and finding better ways to infiltrate networks unseen, legacy approaches to prevention leads to exposed endpoints. If your chosen endpoint protection platform isn’t analyzing endpoint behavior, it may not spot the tell-tale minor fluctuations in normal activity that signals an attack.
It is important to note that:
Attackers are bypassing traditional endpoint security
The majority of cyberattacks today includes tactics such as island hopping, lateral movement and incurs millions of dollars in damages. Advanced hacking capabilities can be found for sale on the dark web, not to mention that several nations have been found guilty of government backed hacks. All high-value assets are at risk, which have resulted in a magnitude of products aimed at stopping a single type of attack. A single platform as that simplifies an organizations’ security stack gives adaptive protection without the complexity.
The VMware Carbon Black Cloud consolidates multiple endpoint security capabilities
By using a single endpoint agent and console, organizations can reduce the complications that arise from a staff management point of view as well as a security point of view when responding to fluctuations in the data or any other incidents. A single endpoint console will also minimize the downtime associated with incident responses and ensure improved endpoint performance.
No corporate network connection is needed
Remote workers may not have access to stable network connections. Traditional endpoint protection will not update if it is not connected to a corporate or business network. The VMware Carbon Black Cloud can update from anywhere in the world over any network, as such users will be protected even if their connections are not stable.
Securing work from all devices and ensuring greater visibility
With the rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) many organisations realized that less secure devices would connect to their networks and started to prepare accordingly. With the crisis on hand this may catch others unaware. The VMware Carbon Black Cloud can be deployed to personal devices to provide corporate level protection and the necessary visibility.
Ultimately, giving security professionals insight to every endpoint, will help teams to identify any critical network vulnerabilities, install patches and validate patches via the cloud, ensuring that every endpoint on the network is up to date.
