Insecurity in existing endpoint protection deployments

Bromium®, Inc. has announced the results of “Endpoint Protection: Attitudes and Opinions,” a survey of more than 300 information security practitioners focused on endpoint threats and security. The results of the survey indicate that the overwhelming majority of information security professionals believe their existing security solutions are unable to prevent all endpoint infections, anti-virus solutions are ineffective against advanced targeted attacks and end users are their biggest security concern.

“The reality today is that existing endpoint protection, such as AV, is ineffective because it is based on an old-fashioned model of detecting and fixing attacks after they occur,” said Rahul Kashyap, chief security architect, Bromium. “Sophisticated malware can easily evade detection to compromise endpoints, enabling cyber criminals to launch additional attacks that penetrate deeper into sensitive systems. Security professionals should explore a new paradigm of isolation-based protection to prevent these attacks.”

Key findings from “Endpoint Protection: Attitudes and Opinions” include:
· Endpoints are vulnerable – Nearly 85 percent of respondents believe that their existing security technology is unable to prevent endpoint infections. Despite the proliferation of layered security solutions, attacks continue to exploit common vulnerabilities in operating systems, applications, browsers and plug-ins.
· Anti-virus is ineffective – Nearly 85 percent of respondents believe that anti-virus solutions are unable to protect against advanced targeted attacks. Sophisticated malware is designed and tested to ensure it evades current security technologies, such as signature-based detection and behavioural analysis.
· End users are a weak link – Nearly 75 percent of respondents believe that end users are responsible for their biggest security headaches. End users become infected by drive-by downloads, malicious URLs and email attachments, impacting productivity as security teams work to resolve compromise or restrict access.

“Despite the challenge in protecting end users, it is encouraging so many security professionals are aware of the shortcomings of existing technology,” continued Kashyap. “The recognition that the status quo is broken is the first step toward changing it for the better.”

Additional results from the survey found two-thirds (65 percent) of information security professionals are looking for endpoint protection that can stop both known and unknown threats. Further, three-quarters (75 percent) stated they would sleep better at night knowing a user could click on anything at any time without risk of infection.