Importance of Endpoint Protection
February 08, 2021 by Lily Rexing
Governments of all sizes are important owners of data, ranging from citizen information to critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, this makes cybersecurity a major concern. Attackers are constantly changing their tactics to target systems and exploit users in new ways.
A necessary consideration is that the majority of cyberattacks originate on end user devices, or endpoints. Cybercriminals oftentimes prey upon endpoint devices at local governments and schools to gain access to sensitive information or to deploy malware, including ransomware. Every endpoint is a potential gateway into a network, so it’s essential to continuously monitor for malicious activity.
This is particularly true in our remote work environment. User devices are even more susceptible in remote work situations, where traditional network defense controls aren’t able to see them. When a remote device is compromised, it puts the entire network at risk of infection the next time it connects.
Monitoring user devices is a daunting task, especially when a jurisdiction supports thousands of devices. Each of these endpoints is a potential access point for an attacker, and it only takes one click to enable malicious activity. For local agencies with limited IT resources, constantly tracking this sheer volume of information can be overwhelming and impractical.
In these situations, IT teams need to work smarter, not harder. Partnering with a managed threat detection service can fill the gap by providing qualified security analysts to proactively monitoring for risky behavior 24/7. Additionally, tracking this massive amount of information may provide valuable insights about past, current, and future network behavior. Utilizing this type of monitoring and analysis service ensures cybersecurity remains a priority without sacrificing other resources.
Continuous analysis of a government’s network traffic is essential to quickly detect and contain threats. Selecting a service that combines artificial intelligence with human intelligence can help to quickly detect threats and safeguards systems for users in the office, at home, or on the road.