Q & A
EDITOR ’ S
MATHIVANAN VENKATACHALAM , VICE PRESIDENT , MANAGEENGINE
While most large organisations were able to handle ad hoc changes to their existing cybersecurity setup during the pandemic , it was the small and midsize businesses ( SMBs ) that suffered . This is where channel partners come into the picture . SMBs usually form the bulk of a channel partner ’ s customer base because channel partners
An enterprise ’ s security posture is only as strong as its weakest link : humans .
cater better to local businesses spanning different industries and management setups . Thus , the channel partner ecosystem can be effectively utilised to educate businesses about the current cybersecurity landscape and how endpoint security can plug existing cybersecurity gaps .
Cybersecurity companies have realised the far-reaching capabilities of channel partners and revamped their channel partner programmes to include specialised partner training , dedicated pricing , and more . And with teleworking here to stay , at least for the immediate future , this synergy between channel partners and cybersecurity companies is expected to have a strong positive impact on endpoint security .
However , one of the major challenges of implementing newer security models is integration and how to accommodate the new security setup in the existing system . This is a challenge since most organisations have a traditional perimeter-level security setup that protects the data within the
enterprise . But remote working turned the setup on its head as the critical data and the endpoints that access this data all moved beyond the confines of the enterprise , making the existing security setup inadequate .
That ’ s why the co-existence of traditional systems and the new , complex security model might pose a problem for enterprises of all shapes and sizes . One of the easier ways to nullify this problem is to use a single system not just for security needs but one that effectively combines both the management and security needs of an organisation .
As more and more organisations are moving towards a unified management and security solution that can handle endpoints of different types running on different OS versions , there are two potential pitfalls when it comes to dealing with cybersecurity . The first is with regards to the security model of an enterprise . A strong security model can work efficiently only if the baseline configurations are secure . The fundamental baseline is to protect critical enterprise data through its life cycle-when it is at rest , in use and in transit . However , the means to achieve this must be regularly improved to keep pace with newer cyberattacks .
The second drawback is thinking that just a strong security model is sufficient to thwart cyberattacks . An enterprise ’ s security posture is only as strong as its weakest link : humans . When discussing security models , it is always technology and processes that appear to be at the forefront , but only with employee education and awareness can any security setup be complete .
The next generation of endpoint security products will be developed to be self-aware and self-learning to ensure enterprises stay on top of their endpoint security game .
We ’ ve already seen the introduction of AI , ML , and Deep Learning in most cybersecurity solutions to build predictive models that in turn determine the severity of a particular cybersecurity incident , the importance of the underlying devices or data involved and the optimal response for the incident-all without any user intervention .
Another aspect of cybersecurity that will be seen more in next-generation endpoint security products is identity mapping . Most security attacks happen due to intentional or unintentional misuse of privilege . While identity mapping can be used to prevent insider attacks , temporary access models can grant just-in-time privileges for users to avoid privilege misuse . •
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