This white paper examines the looming threat horizon that is forcing companies to reexamine their endpoint security functions and discusses ESET's solution for integrated security management that is built around its advanced heuristic technology. The threat landscape facing businesses has evolved significantly, and corporations are looking for security products that can protect against known threats and prepare for future attackers in a simple-to-use architecture.
W H I T E P AP E R E n d p o i n t S e c u r i t y : P r o a c t i v e S o l u t i o n s f o r N e t w o r k w i d e P l a t f o r m s Sponsored by: ESET Andrew J. Hanson Brian E. Burke Gerry Pintal February 2009 mo I D C O P I N I O N c.cdi. The past few years have witnessed several highly publicized cases of security www breaches at major corporations. These high-profile incidents have emphasized the need to protect and control sensitive corporate information within the enterprise 510 environment. As more data resides at the endpoint, administrators are being forced to 4.53 defend a new architecture that has critical corporate resources dispersed around the 9.8 globe. Fortifying the network perimeter, essentially placing sensitive data in a locked 05.F vault with towering walls, is no longer sufficient for enterprise security. The focus of 0 many security solutions is rapidly moving away from a network-centric perspective 028 and concentrating on the endpoints. Additionally, the threat landscape is evolving at .27 an exponential rate that cannot be addressed by traditional security solutions. 8.805. Highlights of this white paper include: P AS ! Proactive, heuristic scanning is increasingly necessary to protect endpoints from U 10 previously unknown dangers as the threat landscape develops at an alarming 710 rate. AM , ! Heuristic scanning is the first line of defense for the endpoint but should be mah complemented by integrated traditional security features. gnimar ! A growing number of antimalware applications necessary to protect endpoints F te will require an integrated and centralized management console. ertS n ! Security solutions must function as business enablers by improving system eep performance and not disrupting the user experience. S 5 :sretrau I N T H I S W H I T E P AP E R qdae This white paper examines the looming threat horizon that is forcing companies to H la reexamine their endpoint security functions and discusses ESET's solution for bol integrated security management that is built around its advanced heuristic G technology. The threat landscape facing businesses has evolved significantly, and corporations are looking for security products that can protect against known threats and prepare for future attackers in a simple-to-use architecture.
M E T H O D O L O G Y
IDC developed this white paper using existing market forecasts and direct, in-depth primary research. To gain insight into the needs of businesses and how such needs are being met by ESET's security portfolio, IDC conducted interviews with IT executives at companies of various sizes in several industry sectors. Additionally, IDC met with representatives from ESET to review their goals and tactics. This white paper reflects all of these research perspectives.
S I T U AT I O N O V E R V I E W
The nature of corporate IT security changed dramatically in the past decade. The expansion of the Internet has created an explosion of new technologies, services, and capabilities available to businesses via the Web. The cost of reaching an unlimited base of customers globally has all but disappeared. At the same time, business executives are finding that the Internet offers the prospect of lowering capital expenditures by providing access to remote workers, both locally and internationally.
This dramatic shift in network architecture has IT administrators scrambling to secure endpoints. In many cases, the obvious solution would be to restrict user privileges on a device, but this approach is ruled out because Internet connectivity and the necessary plug-ins associated with it are part of today's everyday operations. To restrict the user's ability to modify his or her system would inhibit daily tasks and flood IT departments with unrelenting demands for program approvals and system adjustments, resulting in what IDC refers to as "message fatigue": when users and administrators alike grow weary of constant warning messages commandeering their screen and begin simply clicking through them as opposed to reading the critical information being displayed. T h e N e w T h r e a t L a n d s c a p e
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