[BreachExchange] Endpoint Security Advice for the CISO on the Go!

[Audrey McNeil]

https://solutionsreview.com/endpoint-security/endpoint-
security-advice-ciso-go/

We get it. You’re an enterprise-level CISO. You’re busy.

Actually, let us rephrase that. You’re an enterprise-level CISO. You’re
probably stressed to the point of hair pulling, teeth gnashing, and
lamentations. Your enterprise IT security team processes hundreds if not
thousands of security events, potential data breaches, and employee access
requests every day. We can’t blame you if, in the midst of continual
digital turmoil, you’re nostalgic for the days when simply installing
antivirus on each computer was enough to keep hackers at bay.

But those days are gone. We know. We’re sad too.

Even endpoint security—once the simplest cybersecurity solution and the
centerpiece of any enterprise’s digital security—has become infinitely more
complicated as digital threats have increased in sophistication and
severity. New threats, such as fileless malware, have emerged that bypass
traditional endpoint protection platform detection and prevention. Hackers
continue to develop and deploy new tactics to penetrate network perimeters.
Plus, with the mobile device bring-your-own-device revolution well
underway, it can be hard to know just how far your perimeter extends.

In the spirit of making your life easier (it’s what we do here at Solutions
Review), here’s some endpoint security advice to mull over as you make your
moves against threat actors aiming to harm your business.

Integration is the Key

A common theme in the human experience is humans developing tunnel vision
about a problem, trying to solve it quickly, and failing to account for the
effects their solution will have elsewhere.

Compounding this common foible? It tends to be exacerbated by stress and
time constraints—two factors that tend to be present in IT security team
offices the world over.

We don’t want to disparage you or your team, but we’ve seen patterns of IT
security teams falling victim to this problem without realizing it.
Endpoint security, in particular, tends to require solutions quickly and
therefore falls prey to this foible constantly. So enterprises end up
inadvertently stacking multiple solutions at once, creating integration
issues that actually cause more security holes than they solve.

Our endpoint security advice? Keep it simple. Choose the single endpoint
security solution that fits your IT security perimeter needs most
completely. Sometimes this could be as simple as checking what other
features or updates your current endpoint security solution offers that you
could deploy to potentially secure your current issue. If you do make a new
endpoint security solution selection, make sure it integrates with the
other cybersecurity tools at your disposal.

Is it Time to Go Cloud?

Everyone in the corporate world is talking about the potential inherent in
cloud adoption and digital transformation. It is easy to see why: more
collaboration, more connectivity, more scalability, and more profits are
all on the table for the digitally transformed enterprise. Yet
cybersecurity experts see digital transformation as a more mixed affair:
lots of opportunities carrying lots of risks.

Cloud endpoint security can help your IT security team manage multiple
agents through a consolidated interface, providing a consistent level of
protection while alleviating the burden on individual endpoints, and
improving their prevention capabilities. However, our endpoint security
advice is to approach cloud endpoint security judiciously. Is your
enterprise scaling up? Is your current endpoint protection platform
weighing down your performance? Are you facing more threats than usual? The
answers will determine whether you need your endpoint protection platforms
to stay on-premises or take to the metaphorical skies.

Look for Talent in the Right Places

Of course, all of the endpoint security advice in the world is useless if
you don’t have the technical talent on hand to implement and enforce them.

Unfortunately, finding that talent can be as much if not more of a
challenge than facing down hackers. We’ve written time and time again about
how cybersecurity as a field is suffering from a limited pool of trained,
experienced individuals and the difficulties in recruiting and retaining
that talent.

As a CISO, we’re sure you’re aware of it. In our opinion, the problem may
be where you’re looking. A job posting on your enterprises’ website
probably won’t bring in the experienced individuals your IT security team
needs to function optimally.

Instead, we recommend reaching out to your local universities and training
courses to attract the right talent. Fostering an internship program with
your local university can also be a great way to help train future talent
while keeping the best for yourself. Don’t forget about the career
fair—it’s a great networking opportunity for finding young, fresh recruits
interested in cybersecurity.

One Last Bit of Endpoint Security Advice

We don’t want to keep you—time is always against us, isn’t it?—but we want
to leave you with this: prevention may not have the same place in the
cybersecurity paradigm as it once did, but it is still essential. Having
the right endpoint protection platform on your IT environment can dissuade
most hackers from targeting you—and that’s worth every penny.
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