While they are a necessity for small and mid–size businesses, endpoints can also be a huge liability if not properly secured. Today's small and mid–size businesses face a threat landscape that involves stealthy, targeted, and financially motivated attacks aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities in endpoint devices. Many of these sophisticated threats can evade traditional security solutions, leaving businesses vulnerable to data theft and manipulation, disruption of mission–critical services, and a damaged reputation.
With various endpoints connecting remotely and internally at the same time, managing the endpoint infrastructure is an important – and challenging – task. All it takes is for one endpoint to become compromised to give attackers entry into your business network. From there, they can steal data, corrupt even more devices, and possibly bring the entire network down. Downtime is an expensive event that many small and mid–size businesses can't afford to experience. The ultimate question is not if you need endpoint security; but rather how to attain proactive, effective – and efficient – endpoint security.
Varied threats require varied protection
Mobile endpoints like PDAs, laptops and smart phones allow employees to conduct business anytime, from anywhere, resulting in increased productivity and flexibility, but at the same time they introduce new risks. Even though they remain inside the network firewall at all times, internal endpoints – like desktops – are highly vulnerable, too. Securing all endpoints from today's wide–ranging threats can be a challenge. Each threat requires specific security technology, which can easily lead to multiple consoles and disparate solutions – a costly scenario that's difficult to manage. For most small and mid–size businesses, installing and managing antivirus, antispyware, firewall, intrusion prevention, device and application control and network access control on each and every endpoint is not practical – nor is it easy to manage compliance requirements.
A single solution
The complex and cost–prohibitive nature of the multiple solution scenario has left many businesses with inadequate endpoint protection. However, Symantec has an approach to endpoint security that can make unified protection a reality. Symantec's Endpoint Security solution provides a single agent and console that includes all the security solutions needed to reduce endpoint exposure. Using a single console simplifies management, and provides a bird's–eye view of all endpoints connected to the network.
Symantec's Endpoint Security Solution is comprised of two products:
- Symantec Endpoint Protection v11.0 – Provides antivirus, antispyware, firewall, intrusion prevention, and device and application control technologies
- Symantec Network Access Control v11.0 – Ensures endpoints are protected and compliant prior to accessing the network. Provides monitoring for non–compliant and unauthorized endpoints, as well as remote and wireless workers. Also available is Symantec Network Access Control (SNAC) Starter Edition, geared for small and mid–size businesses that want to take a phased approach into a NAC solution using the simpler, gateway or self–enforcement methods.
Conclusion
The complex nature of today's threats call for more sophisticated and layered security solutions than were needed in the past. And the nature of today's networks requires that all endpoints – many of which are used remotely – be secured. Symantec's approach to endpoint security increases protection and reduces the administrative overhead and costs associated with managing multiple endpoint security products by providing a single agent that is administered via a single management console. This approach not only can save small and mid–size businesses time and money, but also ultimately protects their assets and their business.
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Article Courtesy of Symantec Corporation, a partner in Security by Staples.
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