Whether you’re the director of IT for a multimillion-dollar business or just an everyday person that wants to protect their data – you need to know about endpoint encryption.
Why?
Cybercrime is STILL a very serious global business. A hacker with the right information can easily access your private data and change your life forever. Vital pieces of information that are typically stored by businesses such as, employee records, customer details, loyalty schemes, transactions, or data collection needs to be protected.
All your private data can easily be misused by third parties for fraud. If you’re not protected even as a consumer, you run the risk of being a victim of identity theft or worse.
If you’re in charge of the IT section of your business, then even more is at risk. Think of the countless financial records, passwords, and all of the other valuable data that your customers are expecting you to protect.
Let’s take a look and discover why endpoint encryption is going to be a major trend in 2021.
What is Endpoint Encryption?
Many of the large-scale data breaches that you may have heard about in the news demonstrate that cybercriminals are often out to steal personal information for financial gain.
Endpoint encryption essentially protects your operating system from hackers that can install a keylogger or corrupt boot files stored on your laptop, server, tablet, and other endpoints to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the data.
The three major forms of encryption are AES, RSA, and DES. In addition to that, there are various forms of it such as end-to-end encryption, comprehensive encryption, full-disk encryption, data encryption, as well as data encryption solutions.
The word “endpoint” can refer to where you store your data. Every technology device, mobile phones, laptops, company servers and desktop computers create an entry point for threats. The main aim of an endpoint encryption is to place adequate security. It’s achieved by blocking access attempts and risky activities at any points of entry.
Remember, hackers are out for anyone! If you’re a business, you may run into the same problems Adobe did – ending up with a huge lawsuit due to stolen data. If you’re a consumer, then identity theft and your personal financial data should be a concern of yours.
Both corporate enterprise systems and consumers can benefit from endpoint encryption.
You need to choose wisely though. Some of the biggest complaints on most endpoint encryption softwares is that they have little comprehensive management or integration-capability.
However, one company that has people talking is WinMagic. Their software has proven to be a game changer as it offers comprehensive protection across users, platforms, data and departmental silos.
Why do businesses need it?
Organizations use endpoint encryption software to protect sensitive information where it is stored and especially when it is transmitted to another endpoint.
Things like passwords, messages, healthcare files, bank account information, social security numbers, and addresses are examples of information that is often encrypted. With the right software, you will be safe from your next potential data breach.
The Benefits of Endpoint Encryption
Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for!
Let’s get straight into the benefits of encryption. Here are some of the vital things you can gain by utilizing endpoint encryption…
Boost Patch Management
Each endpoint patch contains critical security information that can help mitigate or prevent cyber-attacks. Hackers exploit unpatched endpoints as stepping stones to their prime targets. Research shows the average endpoint is three months behind on updates. In addition to that, it typically takes under 100 days to test and deploy patches to each endpoint.
Skyrocket Visibility
Without true visibility, cybersecurity professionals can’t find the attack surfaces that hackers intend to target. Hackers prefer targeting the isolated, the vulnerable, and the neglected endpoints. Endpoint security helps uncover any potential gaps and perform regular checkups on potential weak spots in your attack surfaces.
Protect Your Reputation
For those of you seeking security for your business, you can have confidence that your enterprise is protected day and night. Thus, your organization can be kept out of the headlines and maintain its reputation. You won’t be the next Adobe.
Streamlined Cybersecurity
Complex and layered endpoint protection actually increases, rather than decreasing the risk of a breach. This actually makes sense when really examined. Overloading every endpoint with multiple agents causes integration issues that create security vulnerabilities. Instead, the less comprehensive agents you install – the better.
Guarantee Compliance Compliance is extremely important, and many IT departments must comply with legal, insurance, and industry restrictions on how data can be managed and transmitted. Encryption provides the safest way for a business to transmit and store data while also complying with the restrictions that your business currently has in place such as FIPS, FISMA, HIPAA, PCI/DSS or Gramm-Leach Bliley.
