While many companies were forced into remote work in order to survive the pandemic, working from home has been largely successful, winning over employers and employees alike. According to the HP Wolf Security Blind Spots Report, over 80% of office workers are regularly working from home, with 23% expecting to work primarily from home post-pandemic and another 16% planning to split their work between home and office.

However, the sudden, unplanned rush into working from home left many businesses vulnerable to cyberthreats, with the FBI reporting a 400% increase in cyberattacks. The key to the majority of these attacks is a failure in endpoint security, and HP has the solution.

Endpoint Security: What is it and why does it matter?

Anyone who has tried to secure a business knows the vulnerability presented by accessing the network remotely.  After all, it doesn’t matter how secure your home is if you start handing out keys to anyone. However, while remote access is a challenge, it’s not a new one, but rather something that has been exacerbated by the recent influx of remote workers.

The solution is endpoint security -  focusing on the devices with remote access to your network to assure their compliance. And endpoint security isn’t just a niche concern; according to IDC, 70% of security breaches begin with an endpoint device. Whether dealing with the customer-facing end of your business, or the back end where your employees access your network, if you can force devices connecting to your network to follow security measures, you can protect your business from the majority of cyberattacks.

HP Wolf Security: The (not so) new name in Endpoint Security

Although HP Wolf Security* represents a new breed of endpoint security, it’s built on more than 20 years of research and development at HP. By unifying decades of innovation under a single banner, HP Wolf Security enables your employees and customers alike to safely access your network from virtually anywhere. It also takes the pressure off IT teams who may struggle with endpoint security because they don’t have control over every device that accesses the network.

HP Wolf Security starts at the hardware level but extends across software and services. However, where HP Wolf Security really shines is that it’s rooted in Zero Trust principles. Zero Trust is built on the idea that whether from an outside source or internal, nothing should be automatically trusted. Instead anything connecting to your systems needs to be verified before access is granted. By assuming that every endpoint could be compromised, protection becomes the main focus and this focus remains core to HP’s approach to security.

Zero Trust: Built on Isolation and Containment

The key to the Zero Trust approach is isolation and containment technology. Also known as microsegmentation, this keeps the risky behavior — like checking your email or running unknown applications — separate from other digital activity. This is critical because, according to IDC, 99% of endpoint security breaches are the result of the user clicking something they shouldn’t have, often through emails that look trustworthy enough to trick even the best malware detection out there.

Every activity that can run separately exists within its own virtual machine. This is especially important as social engineering and phishing become more and more convincing. Even if a user clicks on a malicious link, the connected malware is unable to spread to the rest of the network or even necessarily to the rest of that endpoint. Once the user leaves the micro VM, the malware is gone, never having the chance to create problems for the user or your business.

This approach maximizes your protection while also future-proofing your network. You don’t need to predict what creative new approach to cybercrime will pop up tomorrow or even necessarily detect threats at all. Malware remains contained where it can’t harm your business.

HP Wolf Security: The protection your business needs

The digital landscape is constantly evolving as cybercriminals employ newer, more creative means of tricking people. Endpoint security is not just one of the most effective means of protection, but absolutely vital. It is the most important tool you can add to your arsenal in protecting your network and data as we push forward to an even greater amount of remote work. From one of the most trusted names in technology, HP Wolf Security can be your partner in building this defense.

*HP Security is now HP Wolf Security. Security features vary by platform, please see product data sheet for details.

**According to the FBI.