Endpoint: Just one of three security pillars

With the popularity of the BYOD and now BYOA (app) phenomenons for all types of enterprise, the world is continually challenged by the number of endpoints it must protect.

Organisations may now require a solution for 10 or maybe even thousands of endpoints to manage the company and individually owned laptops, tablets, mobile phones and even wearable technology devices.

And now the SMB sector is doubling its use of BYOD and BYOA endpoints every two years, rapidly catching up with larger corporate enterprise.

We have heard from the experts for some time that the best endpoint security protects you against malware, network intrusions, data loss and theft.

We also all know that it is virtually impossible for an organisation to identify or even monitor which devices are being used on their networks and at what time.

An unwinnable battle?

So the last thing you want to hear from me is that end-point security is an unwinnable battle.

I would however like to share Gartner’s views on endpoint security from mid 2012: “Applications and data are the main focus of modern cyber attacks. However, existing identity, endpoint and network security solutions are insufficient for their protection.”

Back when networks were closed, hackers were merely pranksters, and websites were simply digital brochures, blocking intruders with endpoint and network security was sufficient. But times have changed.

Today’s more open and online enterprise gives almost anyone ‘help yourself’ access to assets in your data center.

What’s more, governments, criminals and hacktivists have displaced pranksters and are targeting your critical applications and data assets with sophisticated, frequent and large-scale attacks.

For example Imperva Incapsula recently recorded on average, over 12 million unique DDoS web robot (bot) sessions on a weekly basis against those customers using Incapsula’s Mitigation service, which represents a 240% increase over the same period in 2013.

Predictably, endpoint and network defences are strained by these new realities; they were designed for a different time and a simpler threat.

The proof is in the headlines: despite huge investments in the latest antivirus software and next-gen firewalls, companies are still getting hacked.

What’s needed is a security solution that can block threats while allowing easy, appropriate access to the data assets essential to building and running your business.

Endpoint and network solutions are the first and second pillars of enterprise security, but you can’t conduct business safely without the third pillar: data center security.

By Stree Naidu vice president, Asia Pacific & Japan, Imperva