How to Increase Cybersecurity ROI: Combine ZTS and EDR

As organizations continue to face an increasingly complex threat landscape, traditional security approaches are no longer sufficient to protect against advanced threats.

This is especially true when it comes to endpoint security, where a single breach can quickly spread and compromise an entire network.

Zero Trust: More than a buzzword, it's an essential mindset

The concept of Zero Trust has gained traction in recent years.

Apart from it being a buzzword, the concept at its core is about assuming that any device or user will be compromised. The concept is simple in theory, but we must acknowledge that this concept goes against how the human brain works.

When we are presented with risk (i.e., breaches will happen), we like to think that this will not happen to us. But when we buy a lottery ticket, we like to think that we could be the winner.

Still, we take precautions. On our endpoints, we make sure that the latest patches are applied timely, we make sure device access is limited based on identity, and importantly we install endpoint security tools on our laptops and workstations, most commonly Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR).

All these are essential for your endpoint security strategy but not always useful when that inevitable breach happens.

When it does, we need to rely on containment measures, making sure that the attacker or ransomware cannot pivot to other devices and spread across the entire network.

Leveling up: Getting more out of your EDR investment

One key component of a Zero Trust approach is segmentation, also known as Zero Trust Segmentation (ZTS). This involves dividing a network into smaller, isolated segments with strict controls on communication between them. As a result, an attacker will find it much harder to spread through a network, limiting the potential damage of a breach.

Learn more about Zero Trust Segmentation here.

On endpoints, this means preventing any peer-to-peer communication outside IT that might need to take control of the device during troubleshooting. Or even better, limiting access into server workloads to only users that use that application.

Endpoint security traditionally relies too much on detection-based systems which can be vulnerable to advanced threats that are able to evade detection. Or in case of stolen credentials, there is no initial breach to detect in the first place. By limiting the attack surface through segmentation, we can limit the risk of delayed detection significantly.

It's much harder for threat actors to spread and go unnoticed when a network only provides access to what is needed and enforces deny rules by default.

By focusing on breach containment, your EDR or other detection tool has enough time to catch an anomaly and take appropriate action.

Read more about why EDR needs ZTS here.

Endpoint security is evolving, making ZTS vital

Illumio Endpoint can help supercharge your endpoint security strategy by adding a critical and often missing layer to your security stack, segmentation.

Reduce the attack surface from your most vulnerable devices in your estate by rolling out granular control over who your endpoints can communicate with, no matter if the user is working from home, on the go, or in the office.

With Illumio Endpoint, you can:

• Stop ransomware spread
• Tightly control endpoint-to-server traffic
• Stop endpoint-to-endpoint spread
• Control admin access
• Protect agentless devices
• Protect against zero days
• Contain breaches as they happen

Overall, the adoption of a Zero Trust is becoming increasingly important for effective endpoint security. By incorporating ZTS and shifting to a model that assumes that any device or user may be compromised, you can better protect against advanced threats and mitigate the risk of delayed detection.

Learn more about how Illumio Endpoint offers the benefits of ZTS for our laptops and workstations.

Want to learn more about ZTS for endpoints? Contact us today to schedule a consultation and demo.