Data Insurance and Endpoint Protection in the Era of Around-the-Clock Connectivity
What’s the most annoying thing about cyber criminals? They’re smart.
It’s not enough that they steal or destroy valuable information, shut down businesses, and extort millions of dollars to restore vital services. When your organization is targeted, what really gets your gall is uncovering how they were able to do it. It could happen because of a convincing threat actor who acquires credentials, a phishing email that entices you to click the wrong link, malicious code lurking in a download that looks legitimate, or even a combination of all three.
As soon as the path a data breach took to exploit out-of-date architecture or an all-too-human error in judgment is identified, the perpetrator seems like a genius, and victims feel like fools.
That’s what makes modern endpoint protection so challenging and that’s why data insurance carriers want to ensure your endpoints protect your business adequately before they cover you.
The Good Ol’ Days
Back in the 90s, people heard news stories about “computer viruses,” which made them seem like distant threats that didn’t happen to small businesses taking their first baby steps into an online world. By the time most of them traded in 56k dial-up modems for something more high-speed, they likely decided a one-time antivirus installation was good enough. They may not have thought about cybersecurity again until they found their hard drive riddled with malware.
This was the state of endpoint protection for many years: installing the latest software to scan your devices for threats in the background while continuing with business as usual. Today, we’re connected to the Internet everywhere we go. We connect to business networks remotely to work from home; we have personal laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other devices that contain sensitive information because we often use them for work purposes. And most of those devices are never fully shut down or disconnected, even when not in use.
Innovative Threats, Sophisticated Endpoint Security Protection
Insurance carriers understand the importance of a solid endpoint solution, especially one that includes mobile devices. Traditional antivirus, antispam, and antimalware programs are effective at thwarting the modern techniques used by cybercriminals who always seem ahead of the game. But as modern-day threats get increasingly sophisticated, there is an urgent need to advance the level of endpoint security protection. Next-generation endpoint protection that uses artificial intelligence and deep learning can analyze behavior and stop most ransomware attacks and other malware payloads in their tracks.
Endpoint security protection is no longer one-size-fits-all. Companies large and small now rely on in-house IT managers or outsourced experts to tailor security plans based on the specific needs of their business. Defensive software is just one part integrated into a larger cybersecurity strategy. It must be fully integrated to perform in tandem with managed threat hunting, detection, and response conducted in a dedicated network operations center.
Endpoint security protection is now a 24/7 problem. It doesn’t stop when you close your laptop because cybercriminals don’t adhere to your regular business hours. If your security isn’t up to date and consistent across your enterprise, the door is wide open for a threat actor to exploit. They know what to look for—and so does your preferred data insurance provider.
That’s just one of several cybersecurity requirements insurance companies will require to cover your business’s mission-critical information in case of a ransomware shutdown, compromised login credentials, or other data breaches. Fortunately, you don’t have to figure it out as you go. Synoptek has already done the research. Whether you’re new to endpoint protection or seasoned in cybersecurity, there’s something for everyone to learn.
