WFH security: How to protect your remote endpoints from vulnerabilities

Image: iStock/ cyano66

Patch absorption is 1 of the trickiest but astir indispensable tasks you tin instrumentality to support your software, systems and different assets. Cybercriminals cognize that organizations often neglect to decently oregon rapidly spot known vulnerabilities, leaving this a cardinal vector for attack. Patching information holes has go adjacent much hard with the advent of the distant workforce arsenic truthful galore endpoints are present extracurricular the web perimeter.

A study released Monday by distant absorption supplier Action1 looks astatine the situation of distant spot absorption and offers tips connected however to much efficaciously unafraid distant endpoints.

SEE: Zero spot security: A cheat expanse (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

For its 2021 Remote IT Management Challenges Report, Action1 surveyed 491 IT professionals astir the satellite to larn however they spot and negociate their distant and office-based endpoints. Among the respondents, astir said they program to support astatine slightest immoderate employees moving remotely successful 2022. However, they inactive bump into obstacles trying to unafraid and enactment their distant oregon hybrid workforce, peculiarly successful the country of patching information flaws.

A afloat 78% of those surveyed said they ran into delays patching captious vulnerabilities astatine slightest a fewer times implicit the past year. And installing captious patches tin instrumentality much than doubly arsenic agelong erstwhile the endpoint is remote. On average, organizations required 10 days to spot each distant devices with a captious update. In immoderate cases, respondents said they request 90 days to execute this task.

Many organizations deficiency an effectual and beardown spot absorption process. Some 59% of the respondents said they usage automated tools to rotation retired patches, but lone for their operating systems and not for third-party products. Only 24% usage automated cloud-based tools for some the OS and third-party programs. And immoderate 14% revealed that they inactive negociate each patches manually.

Several obstacles get successful the mode of effectual spot management. Some 38% of the respondents said they can't get accusation astir each updates successful 1 spot oregon prioritize them efficiently. Some 37% said they're saddled with excessively galore non-integrated tools to way and deploy updates. And 27% deficiency the bandwidth to support up with each the patches being issued.

Other problems cited included the complexity of the deployment process, errors and failures during deployment, employees not being connected to the firm web during a deployment, and employees declining updates.

SEE: Password breach: Why popular civilization and passwords don't premix (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The deficiency of a beardown spot absorption program does person real-world implications. Among those surveyed, 77% of respondents said their enactment was deed by astatine slightest 1 information incidental during the past year. Out of those, astir two-thirds reported that the incidental exploited a known vulnerability that had not been patched adjacent though a spot was available.

To assistance your enactment found a amended spot absorption process, particularly for distant endpoints, Action1 offers the pursuing advice:

1. Automate your bundle patching. With galore IT teams understaffed and overloaded, it's harder than ever to manually enactment connected apical of the indispensable patches. Make definite you automate your patching not conscionable for operating systems but for third-party products. You besides request to prioritize updates based connected hazard and streamline your spot absorption tools truthful you're not forced to juggle a big of antithetic products.
2. Make definite your IT teams person visibility into and power implicit distant endpoints. Before you tin spot your distant endpoints, you request to cognize what and wherever they are. This particularly applies to unwanted oregon outdated programs, which whitethorn request to beryllium removed oregon replaced.
3. Provide cybersecurity grooming for each employees. Education is captious for employees successful the bureau and peculiarly moving from home. Make definite users cognize however to spot a phishing onslaught and however to debar risky behaviors specified arsenic moving from a nationalist Wi-Fi web oregon letting household members usage their concern devices. Promote a civilization of cybersecurity wherever each employees promote each different to signifier bully cyber hygiene.
4. Set up an incident effect plan. No substance however good you unafraid your web and distant endpoints, there's ever a hazard of a cyberattack. To guarantee that you cognize however to respond successful a crisis, make an effectual incidental effect program that you regularly trial and rehearse.

Also see

• Top 5 tips for distant security (TechRepublic)
  
• Working from home: How to get distant close (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Return to work: What the caller mean volition look similar post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
  
• Coronavirus domain names are the latest hacker trick (TechRepublic)
• Employers are watching distant workers and they're monitoring these activities (TechRepublic)
• How to negociate passwords: Best practices and information tips (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Managing accounts payable operations during COVID-19 policy (TechRepublic Premium)
• Security incidental effect policy (TechRepublic Premium)