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Hardware-based defenses give hybrid workers endpoint protection
As endpoints are now “ground zero” for attacks, we need the right tools against more malicious attacks.
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Protection first: A binary code is projected on a man holding a laptop computer. Laptops, PCs and printers are becoming more prone to cyberattacks. (Reuters/Kacper Pempel)
T
aking conference calls at home or during your commute, brainstorming sessions at the office, or carving intense, productive hours in your favorite café—long gone are the days of a rigid workstyle. Hybrid work is here to stay, and it creates new opportunities to drive productivity while improving everyone’s well-being.
However, as the rules of work change, the threat landscape is also alarmingly evolving.
Security leaders warn about the security gaps that are lurking the hybrid workforce. According to the latest HP Wolf Security global research, 82 percent of almost 1,500 surveyed Information Technology Dependent Manuals (ITDMs) admitted that operating a hybrid work model still leaves gaps in their security posture. More than 6 in 10 (65 percent) said the greatest cybersecurity weakness is the potential for hybrid employees to be compromised, and 69 percent also said that hybrid work increases the risk of lost or stolen devices.
Endpoints have become the “ground zero” for cybersecurity attacks. Laptops, PCs, or printers used by hybrid workers become the battlegrounds against phishing, ransomware, and attacks from threat actors. In the research, 84 percent of security leaders also underline that the endpoint is the source of most security threats and where the most business-damaging security threats happen.
So how do we close these security gaps while maintaining the freedom that hybrid work allows?
Security attacks can come from anywhere. Workers can click on malicious links or attachments. Executives using their personal devices or networks fall victim to phishing attempts. Or a disgruntled remote employee disappearing and not returning their company’s device. The losses from these attacks can be immeasurable for businesses, big or small.
According to HP Wolf Security Threat Insights in the third quarter of 2022, 44 percent of malware was delivered in archive file formats, such as ZIP and RAR, while email remained the top malware delivery vector in that quarter, accounting for 69 percent.
Meanwhile, according to Indonesia’s National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), ransomware dominated the more than 700 million cyberattacks that occurred in the country last year. Digital transformation also has supercharged resources for cyberattacks—cybercrime tools and mentoring services are now readily available at low costs.
For many organizations and companies, their current approach to endpoint security is insufficient. Despite advancements and additional layered protection, most organizations operate in a reactive mode. Approximately 65 percent of the surveyed security teams say it is challenging to update their threat detection measures to reflect the behavior of hybrid employees.
Protecting hybrid workers will get harder in the year(s) ahead. Thus, organizations and companies must deliver protection where it is needed the most: the endpoint. Organizations should embrace a new architectural approach to security that helps to mitigate risk. This involves applying the principles of zero trust – least privilege access, isolation, mandatory access control and strong identity management.
In their ill-biddings, cyberattackers target systems and layers within devices’ systems that are exploitable. Endpoint security software, such as anti-virus software or other more familiar controls, can only make inferences when PC’s firmware has been compromised. Moreover, corrupt firmware is not erasable from the PC’s hard drive. This makes corrupted firmware exist each time the PC powers up.
When it comes to cybersecurity, everyone typically thinks about software, but the resilience within our PCs, laptops, and printers is often underappreciated.
Security capabilities that are integrated into the PC stack, below the OS, are shown to provide more robust endpoint protection. Applying zero-trust security principles from the deepest level of a PC architecture means we can detect, update, isolate, recover, and manage from the silicon to the cloud, and BIOS to browser. Endpoint security with built-in protection delivers in-depth defenses and enhanced intelligence and privacy.
Hardware-based security technology is also an excellent approach to holistic endpoint security. Built-in root-of-trust technologies will address the inherent blind spots of bolted-on endpoint security software. This also makes device self-healing possible if deviations from a known source occur.
In addition to producing an immediate reduction in risk, self-healing also reduces IT desktop operations and minimizes disruptions to users, which are perfect to support the distributed workforce. And finally, hardware-based security technology folds nicely into organizations’ zero-trust architecture.
Hybrid teams can work at different locations and at different time zones. If attacks occur, hardware-enforced protection is always-on and always-watching to reduce the addressable attack surface and enables remote recovery from firmware attacks.
The shift to hybrid work will require new strategies and innovative security tools in response to changing employee behavior. Results from HP’s latest survey that found 72 percent of Indonesian employees feel hybrid work makes them more productive, and more than 90 percent of them found hybrid work as an opportunity to improve well-being and work-life balance.
By prioritizing hardware-enforced security for your hybrid workers’ endpoints, you are holding the key to protecting users, without restricting the freedom that hybrid work allows.
We need to understand the consequences and impacts of hybrid work so we can define a brighter future together. The leading technology will be secure by design and intelligent to mitigate threat impact, thus suitable for your future-ready organizations.
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The writer is business personal systems head, HP Inc. Indonesia.
