In the digital age, technology has become an integral part of business and work – as a result, the importance of cybersecurity has never been greater.
With each passing day, month, and year, cyber threats become more pervasive, and more sophisticated. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, this has been accelerate considerably, because many more organisations and users are now operating remotely. While this shift has brought flexibility and productivity benefits, it has also opened doors to new vulnerabilities and challenges.
We spoke with TechQuarters, a London-based IT support provider, about how businesses can improve their security using unified endpoint management. Having provided small business IT support London-based companies have used for over 10 years, TechQuarters witnessed first-hand the evolving challenges of remote work. Below is a summary on how remote and hybrid work poses new security challenges, and how UEM can help.
Remote and Hybrid Work (and their risks)
Advances in technology (alongside the pressures that COVID placed on businesses) has resulted in the rapid onset of remote and hybrid working as a widely accepted model for working.
By and large, remote and hybrid work has been a success for a great many businesses (TechQuarters, for instance, have been fully remote since 2020). However, there are definitely risks involved if businesses are not fully prepared.
Many businesses jumped straight into working remotely, without considering the fact that their IT infrastructures were designed for on-premise work. With users accessing company networks, systems, and data from many new locations, the overall security of organisation’s infrastructure was greatly reduced.
The solution for this particular form of cyber risk is to improve the security of users working remotely. UEM is an effective means of achieving this.
Understanding Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
Since the use of mobile and/or distributed devices for work has proliferated, there has been an increased need for security on all wireless devices. This is what unified endpoint management aims to achieve.
UEM is a comprehensive solution, that is designed to address the many complexities of management a large number of computers, mobile devices, printers, and many other types of devices (i.e. endpoints) used by businesses – many of which are wireless and therefore moved between multiple networks and locations. According to TechQuarters, UEM offers a holistic means of managing all devices associated with an organisation, and the business IT support London businesses have received from TechQuarters since the advent of remote and hybrid working has incorporated UEM as a key solution.
How Does UEM Enhance Cybersecurity?
Unified endpoint management is designed to be a holistic solution; to that end, it consolidates a variety of mechanisms for improving the visibility, control, and responsiveness organisations have over cyber threats. Some of the key qualities of UEM include:
Monitoring
UEM provides a centralised view of all endpoints connected to an organisations’ network – including all desktops, laptops, mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), printers, and even Internet of Things (IoT) devices. With UEM, businesses can track device statuses, configurations, and security postures on all devices. This enables businesses to detect suspicious activity at the earliest point possible.
Policies Enforcement
UEM makes it easier to manage policies for company devices. Through the centralised platform, organisations can define and update security policies, and enforce policies onto the device, ensuring that company data gets handled and protected on that device in according with company guidelines.
Vulnerability and Patch Management
The centralised platform that comes with all UEM solutions makes it much easier to deploy patches to any and all endpoints connected to it. Furthermore, due to UEM’s monitoring capabilities, organisations can more effectively detect vulnerabilities in endpoints, so that they know which ones require patches.
Threat Detection and Response
As has been mentioned a number of times already, UEM connects all endpoints via a centralised platform, allowing organisations to consolidate and view all data and activity on all endpoints. The benefit of this is that tracking patterns and behaviours that may correspond to a threat becomes not only easier but more accurate. Furthermore, responding to threats is also more efficient.
The Bottom Line on UEM
As the device and data estate of business grows and becomes more complex, businesses must ensure that all endpoints are protected. According to TechQuarters, there is currently no better solution than unified endpoint management, and the IT support Central London businesses receive from them always includes it as an aspect of organisational security.