Does Your Cybersecurity Strategy Include a Multi-Layer Approach?

Modern cybercrime threats are more complex than they used to be – has your cybersecurity technology kept up? Or are you still using a conventional firewall and antivirus? ESET offers a multi-layered suite of cybersecurity technology designed to provide comprehensive protection.  

Having the right cybersecurity technology is just a part of doing business in today’s world.

In fact, security solutions like firewalls and antivirus software accounted for $23 billion in annual revenue – it’s likely that you contributed to that in some small way.

But have you invested in the right cybersecurity technology?

What Is Next-Generation Cybersecurity?

Put simply, next-generation cybersecurity includes firewalls, advanced endpoint protection, and other tools that makes use of more recent advances in business technology – like Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

Security based on advanced algorithms that can adapt and learn creates a system that can become familiar with the normal patterns associated with each user and device, detecting anomalies in those patterns quickly.

Essentially, something known as a neural net can be used in cybersecurity efforts. Based on a robust algorithm, the neural net can “learn” to spot patterns of data associated with previously identified and classified spear-phishing emails.

One of the best parts about neural nets is that they continue to learn and improve the more that they are used. With increasingly more data to draw from, this Artificial Intelligence will become more and more accurate in doing its job.

This is just one example of how ESET delivers a more effective and holistic approach to cybersecurity…

Why ESET?

Kraft Technology Group and ESET both started their respective missions in 1992 and both companies have been evolving and innovating ever since.  KTG has partnered with ESET for almost 10 years!  While we have put other endpoint security solutions to the test throughout our partnership, we have yet to find a more cost-effective, lightweight, easy-to-administer, and fully featured advanced endpoint security solution.

An ESET endpoint protection timeline:

1995 – Heuristic detection

1997 – Neural networks

2002 – Advanced heuristics behavioral detection

2005 – Cloud malware feedback system in the form of ESET LiveGrid.  Machine learning. DNA detections.

2006 – Machine assisted clustering

2012 – Classic machine learning (Auger). Network attack protection.

2013 – Exploit blocker. Advanced memory scanner.  CMPS/DNA hash. Device control.

2014 – Network attack protection v2. Botnet protection. ESET shared local cache.

2015 – Network attack protection v3.

2018 – Only Challenger in Gartner’s 2018 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

2019 – The current version of ESET Endpoint Security and ESET Antivirus is v7 and includes Ransomware Shield.

What’s new in version 7

• Ransomware Shield—Extension of the Host-based Intrusion System (HIPS) built around an algorithm that analyzes running processes and their file-system activity. It runs automatically in the background; effective against file-less infections.
• System-wide process exclusions—To improve backup speed and minimize interference with the backup process, all file operations that can be attributed to it will be ignored and considered safe. Cautious usage is recommended since an infected file could be accessed by the privileged backup process without triggering an alert. 
• System-wide object exclusions based on hash checksum—ESET endpoint products can exclude a file from scanning using the hash checksum. The exclusion will apply only as long as the object remains unmodified to add an integrity check.
• UEFI Scanner—Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) scanner can scan the hidden partition and on-board flash chip for suspicious data or anomalies that would indicate a compromised system. ESET Endpoint Security and ESET Endpoint Antivirus check these boot areas during system startup and users can also inspect the UEFI partition during a regular On-demand scan by selecting the appropriate scan target.
• Date/Time-based scheduling for Web Control/Device Control—Ability to schedule exactly when browsing specific content on the web is not desirable on company-owned devices.
• Option for smaller product modules updates—Endpoints with this update channel enabled will receive potentially critical data for dedicated protection layers much faster. Update sizes vary around 1 kB or less.
• Support for locally managed lists—Ability to keep individual whitelists and blacklists in addition to the central policy. Users will not have their personal lists overwritten and can keep them separate from central definitions. Includes lists from firewall rules, HIPS, IDS exceptions and known networks 
• Multi-language installer—There is now only installation package for all regions. It can automatically detect the locale and a user can also select the preferred language on the first screen.
• Automatic product updates—Micro Product Component Update (PCU) updates individual product modules more frequently.
• ESET Enterprise Inspector support—ESET endpoint products allow EEI to monitor and track the distribution of objects across a managed environment. EEI is not visible within the endpoint products and can only be managed with ERA or ESMC.
• ESET Dynamic Threat Defense support–EDTD can conduct an advanced analysis on a suspicious file using ESET cloud services. ESET Endpoint products track the routing of suspicious objects to EDTD or LiveGrid which are tagged accordingly and viewable in the Detected threats log. Management of EDTD occurs in ESET Security Management Center and is not otherwise visible in endpoint products.

ESET’s Multi-Layered Approach To Cybersecurity

Over the past thirty years, ESET has developed an extremely effective system of cybersecurity solutions – in fact, when tested by third parties, ESET security technology was found to be as accurate as the competition’s, having the best performance score, and the fewest false alarms.

It’s a pedigree like this that’s grown their client base to more than 400,000 businesses and over 110 million users worldwide.

What does their multi-layered approach offer?

In short, the ESET suite of cybersecurity technologies is designed to protect against threats that haven’t necessarily been identified yet…

• Network Attack Protection
  This firewall protects extant network vulnerabilities that haven’t been patched yet, scans for exploits in network protocols, and blocks attempted attacks.
• Cloud Malware Protection System
  This system monitors cloud-based threats, which are logged and analyzed for further data to help protect against future, similar threats.
• Exploit Blocker
  This tool contributes to cybersecurity by monitoring notoriously unsafe (yet still popularly used) applications like Flash and Java to prevent exploitation.
• Advanced Memory Scanner
  This technology is designed to identify malware that has been hidden by encryption and other layers of obfuscation.
• Reputation & Cache
  The local cache is continually consulted to make sure that previously identified and white-listed benign objects are prevented from causing any harm.
• Enhanced Botnet Protection
  This technology monitors for malicious communication that’s common with botnets – when identified, they are blocked and reported to prevent damage.
• DNA Signatures
  Based on the same machine learning processes explored above, DNA Signatures allows ESET technology to identify new malware by their very “genes” – the complex definitions of how they behave.

ESET Comparison

You may be wondering how ESET compares to Carbon Black, Crowdstrike, Cylance or Sentinel One.  ESET has a 10 to 20 year head start on other “next-gen” solutions and continues to prove it’s superiority as with the AV Comparatives test in early 2018.  Two highlights in the independent third-party testing report show that ESET has the highest detection rate and the lowest performance impact!

Download the ESET/Carbon Black/Crowdstrike/Cylance/Sentinel One comparison report here.

What Will ESET’s Multi-Layered Approach Do For You?

The primary goal is to keep you secure – but there are plenty of additional indirect benefits of ESET technology as well:

• Simplified purchasing
  With comprehensive protection, you reduce the number of individual licenses you need to buy, renew and manage.
• Scale Easily
  Buy with confidence now; add capabilities and licenses as you need them.
• ROI In Security
  75% of ESET clients see a return on their investment in just nine months.
• Optimal Allocation Of IT Budget
  56% of surveyed ESET clients reported that after investing in ESET technology, IT resources were freed up to pursue other projects. 45% reported lowered costs as well.

The moral of the story is that a standard, free trial, consumer-grade cybersecurity solution won’t cut it anymore. Not when it comes up against the types of malware that cybercriminals are using today.

Kraft Technology Group is proud to offer both a fully managed ESET endpoint security as a fully managed service, or also on a reseller basis to larger businesses. If you want to stay safe, you need to invest in something more advanced – something like ESET.

Like this article? Check out the following blogs to learn more:

The Need for Cybersecurity Expertise at the Board Level for Banking

The new Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP)

NIST’s Small Business Cybersecurity Corner