Endpoint Monitoring: Challenges and Solutions

Protecting client devices – mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and other personal devices – is a critical responsibility for an IT professional. Because as an MSP, you know that as the number of client endpoints increases, so does their vulnerability. To that end, implementing a robust endpoint monitoring strategy is essential to reduce and mitigate threats across the devices across your client’s IT infrastructure.

Below, we discuss what you need to know about endpoint monitoring and how to develop an effective strategy.

What is endpoint monitoring?

Endpoint monitoring provides a comprehensive insight into the security status of your client’s network-connected devices, or endpoints. In modern networks, endpoints can be physical devices like PCs, servers or smartphones. But, they could also be software-defined entities such as virtual machines or gateways to cloud-based storage services.

Other types of endpoints that could leave your client’s business vulnerable include:

• Computers and laptops
• Tablets
• Printers
• Robots
• Medical devices
• Servers
• Handheld scanners
• Mobile devices
• IoT devices

By continuously tracking, analyzing, and managing these endpoints, you can detect and address potential organizational threats, adhere to regulatory compliance, prevent disruptions to your client’s business operations, and safeguard the overall security of their network.

Endpoints are consistently exposed to various digital threats, such as phishing attacks, ransomware, polymorphic malware, and advanced persistent threats. And unfortunately, many of these go undetected by traditional security measures like endpoint antivirus software.

On the bright side, however, specialized software can help monitor endpoints to identify signs of potential vulnerabilities, malicious activities, and unusual changes in system configurations.

Why is endpoint monitoring important?

Endpoint monitoring is essential for modern organizations across every industry as the workforce becomes more geographically dispersed and more employees are working remotely. Providing employees with access to work- and company-related data from their own devices is crucial for convenience and efficiency, but it also raises the risk of breaches.

Every device connecting to your client’s internal networks outside its firewall presents a new opportunity for cybercriminals. Employees have varying levels of security knowledge, and different devices have different security levels. Even the most cautious employees can fall victim to phishing attempts.

In particular, malware and ransomware pose significant challenges to modern businesses. These types of cyberattacks, which can disable computers, steal data, or demand payment for access, are difficult to combat with unsecured endpoints.

For instance, malware can remain undetected on an employee’s mobile device for months. Endpoint protection addresses these risks by offering a layered defense, providing multiple layers of security to protect both devices and data.

Beyond helping to identify threats and vulnerabilities, endpoint monitoring enforces security policies and helps organizations maintain regulatory compliance. It provides network security capabilities essential for meeting regulatory compliance requirements such as ISO/IEC 27001, PCI DSS, and GDPR.

What are the challenges of endpoint monitoring?

Endpoint security is a major undertaking that requires patience, expertise, robust tools and vigilant management. But understanding what you’re up against can help alleviate some of the stress and pressures of the continuous task. Below, we explore the most prevalent endpoint security challenges organizations are facing today, and how they impact MSPs.

Keeping track of all client devices

The number of network-connected devices is skyrocketing, and this proliferation increases overall endpoint security risks. Beyond simply needing to properly track and secure company-owned devices, personal employee devices that access company resources under BYOD programs must also be secured

This makes it extremely difficult to protect companies at the enterprise level, as admins struggle to implement appropriate access controls to corporate resources. Among companies that have suffered a BYOD-breach, the majority were required to conduct an audit. If an audit by a regulatory agency reveals a business doesn’t have proper security controls in place, the company may have to pay costly fines.

Managing updates and patches

Patching used to be simple. Updates could be pushed out monthly using Group Policy to desktops and laptops connected to the corporate network. This has changed dramatically. Although patch management remains crucial for reducing organizational risk, it has become much more complex.

Again, the modern workforce now includes many employees working remotely or in hybrid models, using a variety of hardware, software, operating systems and mobile devices. Employees might not even connect directly to the corporate network regularly. This presents a challenge for MSPs who are responsible for keeping client devices up to date before attackers can exploit unpatched software.

Monitoring and controlling permissions

Granting access to too many users and systems with sensitive company data is a great way to experience a security breach. Users should only get access to the systems they need to do their work when and where they need it.

Unfortunately, admins often can’t even keep track of who’s accessing what because they don’t have full visibility into client endpoints. This lack of visibility into user access makes it especially challenging to prevent unauthorized users from accessing sensitive data (and possibly spreading malware that could infect that data).

Safeguarding data

The business risks and associated costs of data breaches are rising, and endpoints are frequently the entry point for these attacks.

As mentioned above, users should only have access to the systems and data they need to perform their duties. By default, they should have least-privilege access to the systems they need, with administrator privileges reserved for specialized users.

Data breaches can wreak havoc on a company in several ways, including seriously damaging its brand and reputation. Luckily, ensuring users have proper access will help reduce the risk of data breaches and loss.

How do MSPs effectively monitor endpoints?

Implementing a strategic plan to effectively monitor your clients’ endpoints is essential to safeguarding them successfully. Below are a few “must-have” steps and considerations that should be factored into your plan.

Achieve total visibility

Get as much visibility as possible into endpoints by gathering all possible data about every endpoint, whether it’s a physical or virtual device. You should have a comprehensive view of which operating system is running on the endpoint, which applications or services it’s hosting, what other endpoints it’s connected to and so on.

Strive to gain a crystal clear understanding of what each endpoint is being used for, who has access to it, if its software is up-to-date and any other relevant functional or security-related information that will help you monitor the endpoint.

Set up reports and alerts

The various types of activities described above work best when you configure automatic alerts to notify your team of potential problems with endpoints.

You can also generate periodic reports about the status of the network or individual endpoints in order to track network patterns over time and use that data to support capacity planning. Report data may be useful if, for example, you want to determine how many mobile devices operate on the network at different times of day, or whether you need to upgrade network equipment to accommodate ongoing increases in bandwidth usage.

Adopt a zero-trust policy

As a best practice, it’s wise to adopt a “zero trust” policy, which means that by default, new devices are deemed untrusted and thus denied connectivity until they are determined to be secure. This approach is more secure than the inverse, i.e., trusting endpoints by default and later finding and isolating insecure ones.

To adopt this practice, you’ll need to determine which software is running on endpoints to detect unauthorized applications or services. You should also be diligent about tracking the software versions of these applications and services so you know if/when they are out of date and therefore subject to potential security vulnerabilities.

When you do identify an insecure device, it should be forced off the network, or at the very least prevented from communicating with the rest of the network, until they are secure.

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Automate patch management with endpoint monitoring software

Automated patch management significantly enhances an MSP’s ability to manage security and functionality across every client endpoint. By automating patching, MSPs, techs and IT leaders save valuable time, reduce the risk of manual errors and ensure patches are prioritized correctly.

TL;DR – Automating patching is vital as it allows for a more efficient and effective way to manage numerous endpoints. Below are a few additional benefits of automated patching:

• Improved Security: Timely updates across devices help address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. By extension, you minimize the risk of security breaches and data loss.
• Consistent Compliance: Automating updates helps to maintain compliance with regulatory standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, PCI DSS, and GDPR.
• Reduced Operational Disruptions: MSPs can schedule patching updates to occur during off-peak hours to minimize the impact on productivity or potential issues.
• Enhanced Efficiency: Manual patch management is time-consuming and prone to human error. Automation frees up IT staff to focus on more strategic or challenging tasks, improving overall operational efficiency (not to mention client service).
• Maintained Consistency: Automated patch management ensures that all endpoints are uniformly updated, maintaining a consistent security posture across the entire organization.

Scale your MSP with Syncro

Syncro’s platform helps MSPs effectively and confidently monitor client endpoints by offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for efficient management and robust security. Some of these tools include automated patch management, real-time monitoring and remote management capabilities, allowing MSPs to maintain a consistent security posture across all client devices.

Additionally, our all-in-one RMM, PSA and remote access platform provides centralized control, enabling admins to oversee and manage multiple endpoints from a single dashboard, streamlining the process of updates, threat detection and resolution.

By leveraging the Syncro platform, MSPs can ensure regulatory compliance, enhance operational efficiency and provide superior protection against evolving cyber threats. It’s a comprehensive approach that not only improves endpoint security but also builds trust and satisfaction among clients, reinforcing the fact that MSPs are an extension of their clients, serving as a proactive and trustworthy partner in their technology management.

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