Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 79 | Page 42

FEATURE : ENDPOINT SECURITY
Yarob Sakhnini , Vice
President , Emerging Markets , EMEA , Juniper Networks cyberattacks exploit well-known vulnerabilities and security gaps on network endpoints . Unfortunately , organisations aren ’ t aware of all endpoints in their network because many are unmanaged transient BYOD , guest , or IoT devices that go undetected during periodic scans , making them invisible to most security tools ,” he said .
these and other factors , securing a remote workforce is more difficult than a traditional , on-premises one . “ Now , the endpoint is a critical component of an organisation ’ s cybersecurity , but it is frequently overlooked or undervalued in corporate cybersecurity strategies ,” he said .
With endpoint protection management now the number one priority for many organisations in MEA CIOs are being cautioned to avoid certain pitfalls when implementing endpoint security solutions .
Yarob Sakhnini , Vice President , Emerging Markets , EMEA , Juniper Networks , said the increasingly sophisticated cyberattack landscape demands that businesses deploy a comprehensive security platform that not only unites and coordinates various threat analytics platforms but provides a simpler policy mechanism as well . Sakhnini said this requires leveraging the entire network as a threat detection and enforcement tool . “ Most successful
Sakhnini explained that with the proliferation of internally launched attacks , it ’ s now imperative to know about every device on the network , including its owner , purpose and security posture . “ These insights allow the business to apply the appropriate level of network access control based on established security policies – for example , BYOD , guest , contractor , and IoT devices must be assigned to appropriate network segments . Businesses must also be able to restrict access to non-compliant devices and quarantine them within secure VLANs . Given the dramatic growth of mobility and IoT devices , this level of control will ideally be achieved without manual implementation methods ,” he said .
Ray Kafity , VP-META , Attivo Networks , said endpoint security has evolved from endpoint detection and response ( EDR ) and endpoint protection platforms ( EPPs ) solutions to ones with enhanced endpoint protection solutions . However , said Kafity , despite these advancements in endpoint security defences , there are still fundamental weaknesses in preventing credential theft and misuse , privilege escalation , and lateral movement attack activities . “ CIOs need to move beyond relying only on EDR and incorporate solutions to address these weaknesses ,” he said .
Given the growing skills gap not only in the endpoint security management space but IT industry in general , the industry is being urged to build capacity ad not relent on the skills challenges that enterprise organisations face .
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