Are Last-Gen Endpoint Management Systems Worth the Risk?

With cyber threats on the rise, companies seek confidence in endpoint security.

For most enterprise organizations, leadership and IT are on the same page. Protect company data, ensure endpoints remain secure, and keep end-users productive (i.e., reduce IT help desk calls).

Over the past few years, the rapid transition to remote and hybrid work has heightened the complexities of defending against sophisticated cyber threats, managing endpoint vulnerabilities, and scaling operations as organizations try to embrace flexibility. Adaptiva released The Cybersecurity Insiders 2022 Endpoint Security Report to take a closer look at challenges and trends in endpoint security. The findings explore what organizations are prioritizing when it comes to cybersecurity protection investments and examine what desired capabilities rank high for endpoint security management.

The research paints a grim picture: 85% of surveyed companies expect a compromising security attack within the next 12 months, and many lack confidence in their ability to defend against incidents.

Key article takeaways:

• The Cybersecurity Insiders 2022 Endpoint Security Report shows organizations' endpoint security products are failing to keep up with evolving threats
• Almost 80% of organizations report that patches take more than a day to roll out
• IT and end-user productivity is the most significant impact of endpoint attacks

Even the best endpoint security products face many limitations

Endpoint management has long relied on physical server architecture. Centralized legacy systems have low resilience and are highly dependent on manual configurations. The report uncovered:

• 46% of organizations reported that previously installed legacy security products, including AV, NGAV, HIPS, and EPP are failing to stop an increasing number of evolving threats.
• 41% of organizations surveyed stated that though they believe they have solid tools and processes in place, there is still concern that threats are slipping through the defenses.

On top of the limitations of old models, there are several reasons for increased interest in upgrading to next-gen endpoint security solutions. Organizations are looking to gain real-time visibility, decrease rollout time for patches and incident response, improve compliance, and they want to be able to deliver critical content on-demand to fix endpoint vulnerabilities. Here's 9 reasons why last-generation endpoint management solutions are intrinsically fragile.

IT can't act fast enough to address cybersecurity concerns

When it comes to the best line of defense against attacks, IT understands that patching systems while also managing endpoints to remove vulnerabilities is critical to maintain compliance. But, 44% of companies reported a cybersecurity skills shortage. There simply aren’t enough skilled, in-house resources to tackle endpoint security, management, and maintenance effectively. Companies face outdated legacy endpoint management systems while dealing with insufficient IT personnel (28% of organizations surveyed reported they lack detection and response capabilities).

In addition to the lack of manual capabilities:

• 79% of critical patches continue to take more than a day to roll out
• 29% of organizations say their biggest challenge is no visibility into their overall security posture
• 37% say their incident response times are insufficient
  
  

"85% of organizations expect a compromising security attack within the next 12 months."

- The Cybersecurity Insiders 2022 Endpoint Security Report

Successful endpoint attacks affect the whole business

So what did the report reveal as one of the most significant consequences of a successful attack? Reduced productivity across the organization, with 35% of organizations reporting reduced employee productivity due to an attack.

Additionally:

• 47% of organizations reported end-user productivity as the most significant impact of endpoint attacks
• 40% recorded system downtime
• 39% experienced loss of IT productivity due to an attack

Faced with the challenges of preventing attacks and defending against new threats, organizations require endpoint management tools that can boost cybersecurity and match the flexibility of today’s workforce — not outdated and insufficient legacy technology. IT needs a solution that can leverage automation, enhance security and compliance, and scale with the demands of the organization while keeping information safe.

To gain a more in-depth understanding of the cybersecurity issues facing organizations today and learn where your company falls, download a copy of The Cybersecurity Insiders 2022 Endpoint Security Report.