INDIA: Stop for a minute to think about all the threats that surround us in our day-to-day lives. It's scary to think how we are all so vulnerable, not just to external but internal threats. One of the major problems faced by people today is that of online or network security. Every day enterprises are plagued by spam mail and viruses that threaten to hijack their entire business. While the concept of endpoint security has picked up in India there is definitely a need for more awareness.

According to a recent study by IDC, security cannot be addressed by implementing one solution that seeks to be the security holy grail. “Vendors know this and there are many offers for bundled applications that pretend to offer a complete security package. Defense in depth is a good approach and choosing the correct tools that best fit your organization's requirements is no easy task. The quest for security continues. At the end of the day, security stands on the three main pillars of technology, process, and people. All the three are extremely important for the desired results behind imple­menting security solutions,” said the report.

Increasing need
What you need to convey to your customers is that while there are a lot of vendors out there claiming to offer endpoint security, they need to select the option that best suits them. There is a lot of confusion on the term endpoint security. While it is a broad term, its meaning has also expanded due to the fact that over the years network risks have changed. Simplified, the term refers to the measures taken to secure all endpoints in an organization. Endpoints can range from PCs to mobile devices like PDAs, connected to the network. “Over the past three years, mobile computing devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants and smartphones have become an indispensable part of corporate lifestyle in India. This leads to information security risks posed by vulnerable endpoints,” shared Tushar Sighat, VP-Operations, Cyberoam (India). He added that endpoints are often mobile and remain outside the network, which makes them susceptible to a variety of attack vectors, especially vulnerabilities in common networking proto­cols that enable unauthorized access through open or uncontrolled ports.

“Most endpoint devices lack the physical and security access controls necessary to maintain security when the devices are re-introduced in non-secure environments bringing threats within the network,” pointed out Sighat.

Speaking about the increa­sing need for endpoint security, Prateek Tokas, Analyst-Software and Service Research, IDC India said, “The market has moved toward consolidation and integration resulting in success of unified threat management (UTM) appliances with multiple functions in a single box, rather than standalone solutions. Due to the increase in online e-commerce transactions, greater broadband penetration, increa­sing data thefts, and maturing attacks, security solutions are turning up as 'need of the hour.' Solutions like data encryption, data leak prevention (DLP), and endpoint security solutions are expected to be increasingly adopted, as informa­tion security is turning up as a major business concern for enterprises.”