Currently, organisations of all sizes are at risk from organised crime, malicious and accidental insider threats. Find out what the main risks are of not implementing endpoint protection and how businesses can benefit from these services.

Malware Protection – Extra Protection From Ransomware And Unknown Threats

Ransomware is a common type of unknown malware attack or zero-hour attack. It is a different type of

malicious software than your typical virus. The purpose of ransomware is to block off access to your computer system or encrypt all your data and files until a sum of money is paid. This way, hackers can literally hold your data for ransom. This has been on the news several times as a lot of big companies including the NHS have fallen victim to ransomware attacks in the past.

According to a global survey carried out by Sophos, 51% of companies surveyed stated they had been hit by ransomware in 2020. This is a staggering number when, in the same survey, they revealed the average amount of money needed to remediate the situation in the UK is $839,796.42 (just under £614,000) which is not a small amount for any company.

Anti-malware software works by monitoring and scanning your endpoints/network for unusual behaviour (behavioural analysis). If there is suspicious activity such as files being encrypted, the anti-malware software flags this and stops the attack. With certain software (for example, Sophos Intercept X) the files can be rolled back to their original decrypted state.

Which One Should You Choose?

As previously mentioned, the minimum protection you should have is an anti-virus solution which will protect you against known malware/viruses.

However, no one system can stop every attack, and therefore it is recommended across the security industry to take a layered approach to protecting your network.

This means that you should strongly consider anti-malware or ransomware protection as well as having an anti-virus solution alongside a firewall.  These come in all different forms, we wrote a great Beginner’s guide to firewalls previously, to get you started.

By adding anti-malware/ransomware protection to your security suite you will ensure you are protected against the newest attacks.

Anti-malware software can typically be a simple add-on to your existing antivirus software or sometimes even as a separate product entirely. This will depend on which provider you choose.

What are the main risks of not implementing Endpoint Protection?

• Lost Time: If you are attacked, you will have to take the network down, each infected machine will need to be cleaned up and rebuilt. Depending on the age and warranty status of your hardware you may even need to order new kit which will also take time. Reverting to a back-up is also going to be potentially time consuming.
• Lost Data: Temporary or possibly permanent loss of data is the most common consequence of not protecting your endpoints. Just one click on a malicious link and it could all be lost! You may have a back-up but how recent is it? How many days of data might you have still lost? With the latest GDPR legislation a data loss or breach will need to be reported and may of course lead to fines and more.
• Costs: As above, the time to restore after an attack can rack up to a huge cost – loss of revenue, employee wages for staff who cannot work, the costs mount up every minute your systems are down. There may also be hardware/software costs to get you back in business and if sensitive data is lost there may even be fines to pay. Ultimately, the cost of dealing with an attack is far more than the cost for the protection to prevent one.

If your company experiences a cyber-attack there are many consequences, some may be minor such as the need to change all your passwords, whilst others, such as potentially leaked customer data, could lead to a large GDPR breach and damaging fines. Not only this, but once your consumers and potential business finds out about the breach this can lead to a negative reputation which can equal loss of business, income, and customers on a large scale.

How can Minerva help?

At Minerva we understand the importance of keeping your data safe. Our Network and Security team within our IT Support department have a lot of experience working with a variety of endpoint protection vendors although our preferred solution is Sophos. We believe that Sophos solutions are not only best of breed, but we have seen Sophos Central Intercept X in action with our own customers, none of whom have lost data in a ransomware attack.

For advice on how to better protect your endpoints and keep your company and devices safe from attacks, contact us today.