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Emtec Adviser - The Front Lines of Security

More organizations are investing in endpoint security solutions to reduce the risk of security breach and the loss of sensitive data.

In the thick of battle, it’s sometimes hard to sort out the bad guys from the good guys. That’s increasingly true in network security. While combating a growing array of security threats, network administrators must also support the mobile workers, business partners, consultants, contractors and customers who require access to corporate network resources. These end-users have a wide range of options for gaining access thanks to pervasive wireless connectivity and a proliferation of mobile devices, yet they often fall outside IT’s direct control.

For all their productivity and collaboration benefits, those devices and connections create multiple avenues for introducing viruses, worms and other malwareinto an organization. They also make it difficult to control access to applications and data, and expose sensitive corporate information to loss or theft. Endpoint security solutions can help separate friend from foe, and ensure that end-users have the access they need without increasing network security risks.

Halt! Who Goes There?

IBM recently released results from a survey of nearly 300 IT decision makers on their companies’ endpoint security initiatives. The study, conducted by Zogby International, revealed that 90 percent of business leaders are investing in resources to better manage the security of their endpoints. Over half of those surveyed are also extending security to smartphones and other instrumented devices, with plans to increase spending in this area.

Endpoint security solutions encompass an array of tools that help IT ensure that endpoint devices are compliant with security policies. The most basic solutions check to see if the endpoint device has up-to-date antivirus software; if not, a centrally managed tool pushes updates out to the device. Endpoint security is expanding, however, to include intrusion detection and prevention and behavior-blocking applications that look for activity associated with malicious software.

The most sophisticated endpoint security systems incorporate network access control (NAC) to grant access based upon the end-user device. NAC solutions help organizations enforce their security policies by extending traditional definitions of authentication, authorization and access control to include more detailed endpoint inspection. NAC software validates the end-user’s credentials, scans the device for compliance with policies requiring up-to-date operating systems, malware prevention and mandatory corporate applications, and ensures that no unauthorized software is installed. Devices that do not match policy mandates may be denied access, quarantined or granted limited access.

These solutions work hand-in-glove with identity management to create seamless security for the distributed network. In addition to making users prove their identities, endpoint security makes the devices themselves prove they’re secure before they can log onto the network.

Assessing the Risk

Experts estimate that by 2015 there will be approximately one trillion connected devices, whether traditional PCs or laptops, mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, point-of-sale (POS) systems, ATMs, retail kiosks, or sensors in smart meters, buildings and other off-premises devices. Each of these devices will be generating, transmitting, consuming or analyzing data, and it is critical that they remain available, secure and configured in accordance with company and regulatory policies and requirements.

As the survey results indicate, organizations recognize they are facing an evolving security landscape, given all of the new computing endpoints being added to their networks every day. Organizations must not only manage the security of PCs and laptops, but keep up with demands to secure the influx of smartphones and other instrumented devices interacting with their corporate infrastructure. Eighty percent of survey respondents expect their organization to add new endpoints to their network in 2011.

Although 73 percent of the business leaders surveyed currently allow nontraditional endpoints such as mobile devices or tablets to connect to their corporate networks, 36 percent feel that these devices are not adequately protected and would like to see their companies invest more in managing the security of smartphones, POS systems and other smart devices. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed indicated that their company is planning to increase their investment in security to manage and protect nontraditional endpoints.

While 72 percent of respondents say that PCs and laptops pose the greatest danger to their firm's IT security, smartphones and tablets are viewed as a growing threat. A third of all respondents acknowledged that a lack of visibility into all endpoints is their greatest security concern.

The War on Data

However, research suggests that organizations are more confident in their ability to detect and control malware and security breaches than in their ability to secure data on endpoint devices. The IBM X-Force 2010 Trend & Risk Report indicates that while vulnerabilities and attacks exist, exploitation of endpoint devices is not prevalent yet. Instead, most IT professionals view the data that can be stored on them and how that can be misused or lost as the main security threat associated with these devices.

The risks are very real. According to the Ponemon Institute, data breach incidents cost U.S. companies $214 per compromised record in 2010, compared to $204 in 2009. Average total per-incident costs in 2010 were $7.2 million, compared to an average per-incident cost of $6.75 million in 2009.

Clearly, enterprises must ensure control of their data regardless of where it is stored, including employee-owned or business-issued smartphones and other smart devices. Experts say that advanced password management and data encryption are the best defense against data leakage from endpoints. Effective data protection not only reduces the risk of a costly breach but improves regulatory compliance.

Mobile computing and smart devices offer the enterprise significant benefits, but security still remains a primary hurdle for organizations managing the influx of these devices. Endpoint security solutions can help ensure that only friendly devices gain access to the network, and that data is protected across the extended enterprise.