Protecting enterprise endpoints against the festive cyber surge

While many resellers and enterprise end-users will take a well-deserved break during the upcoming festive period, cyber criminals will remain as active as ever. Malicious actors will continue to operate around the clock and seek vulnerabilities to exploit.

In fact, between September and December last year, BlackBerry threat Intelligence teams observed a 27% uptick in novel malware to 3.7 new malicious samples per minute. Most worryingly, attacks against critical infrastructure, including those targeting government and healthcare industries, accounted for 62% of industry-related attacks over this reporting period.

BlackBerry’s threat intelligence teams also noted an increase in independent threat actors focusing their efforts on targeting high-value data held by the global financial sector, with one million attacks logged over this period. This uptick is a stark reminder that bad actors will continue their pursuit of financial gain regardless of the holidays. High-profile incidents like the mobile Guardian hack, CrowdStrike crash, and Microsoft outage have also underscored the importance of robust cybersecurity measures to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Resellers have a critical role to play here, working with their channel partners to educate end-users on the best options available for enhanced threat monitoring and mitigation.

Specifically, how open XDR – which is a unified, AI-powered approach to detection and response that collects and correlates data from all existing security tools – will enable teams to remain vigilant and safeguard IT operations. Not only during the festive break but also amid a widening skills gap, with a recent government report highlighting that half of UK businesses have a basic cybersecurity skills gap, while a third have an advanced cybersecurity skills gap.

So, what can resellers do now to help safeguard end-user IT teams?

Every customer’s Christmas wish list: Endpoint protection

As we edge towards one of the busiest times of the year, resellers and their tech partners must educate end-users on how best to adopt a multi-pronged approach to mitigate against the inevitable surge in increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

One of the most effective ways to enhance cybersecurity defences is through the adoption of outsourced services like managed detection and response (MDR). MDR services offer a cost-effective way to fortify an organization’s cybersecurity posture and protect vulnerable endpoints from being exploited. By leveraging the expertise of cybersecurity professionals who monitor networks 24/7, organizations can detect and respond to threats in real-time, significantly reducing the window of opportunity for malicious actors to inflict damage.

MDR services are particularly valuable during high-risk periods like the Christmas season when IT teams may be stretched thin and with limited resources. By partnering with a reliable MDR provider, resellers can offer their clients a robust solution that not only enhances their security capabilities but also alleviates the burden on in-house teams. This approach allows organizations to maintain a strong security posture without the need for additional staff or extensive training.

Extending MDR beyond the endpoint

It’s important to note that MDR services vary widely in the types of security solutions they support, however. Many come with hidden costs and resource wastage, requiring IT teams to either change the security stack to fully integrate with the MDR or leave the organization solving only a small portion of the problem they set out to address.

This is because many MDR services focus on supporting native solutions provided directly by the MDR vendor. While potentially optimised for the vendor's own ecosystem, these solutions have significant downsides, including limited visibility, poor threat detection, and vendor lock-in.

In contrast, an MDR service built on an open XDR platform allows for the integration of telemetry from a wider array of sources, providing enhanced visibility and enabling more effective threat detection and response, offering significant advantages from the ability to correlate data and enable faster, more accurate incident response to providing greater flexibility to switch technologies.

By leveraging diverse data sources and integrating best-of-breed technologies, an open XDR platform will enable your customers to achieve comprehensive security coverage and superior threat intelligence – not only during the festive break but 24/7. Avoiding vendor lock-in and mitigating associated risks will further ensure that organizations can adapt and evolve their security strategies to meet emerging challenges.

Forming strategic partnerships

The threat landscape is constantly evolving, and malicious actors are always looking for new opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities. By adopting a multi-pronged approach that includes education, strategic partnerships, and proactive measures like outsourced services, resellers can help their clients stay one step ahead.

The Christmas period is a time for celebration, but it is also a time for heightened vigilance. The actions taken today will determine the resilience of tomorrow. The sheer volume and sophistication of cyber attacks today make the reseller education piece essential, not only when in-house security teams are depleted but year-round.

Channel resellers should consider forming strategic partnerships with cybersecurity vendors that offer cutting-edge technologies and solutions, enabling resellers to offer their clients comprehensive security packages tailored to their specific needs. Specifically, resellers should seek tech partners offering an MDR service built on an open XDR platform to provide end-users with unparalleled flexibility, visibility, and effectiveness in detecting and responding to threats.

Furthermore, collaborating with vendors that have a proven track record in the cybersecurity industry will instill greater confidence, making end-users more likely to invest in advanced security solutions. At the same time, it will enable resellers to position themselves as trusted advisors and strengthen their relationships with clients to drive long-term growth.