Endpoint Protection is Key During Current Employee Turnover Tsunami

Employee turnover is at an all-time high. This can be attributed to pandemic restrictions easing in some parts of the country and the job market booming to make up for layoffs at the beginning of last year. Because of this, workers aren’t afraid to pursue other opportunities that they were eyeing when the pandemic first started. Unfortunately, this employee turnover tsunami is also affecting the security of companies, as workers are—unwittingly or deliberately—exposing company data when they depart.

The Financial Times recently cited analysis by cybersecurity group Code42 that found there have been approximately 65 million attempts by employees across 700,000 company devices to exfiltrate source code from their corporate networks. This is up from about 20 million attempts in previous quarters. The analysis also found that “removable media—such as USB sticks—were the most widely used method for taking company data, followed closely by uploads to Gmail and Dropbox.”

Outdated Security Tools

Even though many companies rely on them, traditional data loss prevention (DLP) tools are not the strongest solutions on their own. Not only can DLP make it harder to stop insider risk, but the tools are also just not as effective during this era of remote and hybrid work. In fact, according to a recent report from Code42, more than three-fourths of surveyed companies suffered a data breach, despite having a DLP solution in place.

Most DLP solutions will not suffice when a large portion of the business is working remotely. Additionally, the shift to remote and hybrid work at the beginning of the pandemic has made it difficult for employers to maintain oversight on what employees are doing on their devices.

Remote working requires technology that makes it easier to move files across the organization, which became a necessity at the beginning of the pandemic to keep businesses running during the sudden quarantine mandates. However, this technology increases insider risk—the Code42 report found employees were 85 percent more likely to leak company data today than they were before COVID-19. That means even companies that have a DLP solution in place are at risk, as employees are just as (if not more) likely to exfiltrate data.

In the face of this augmented risk environment, having an automated, end-to-end data security solution that protects data wherever it moves becomes essential.

The Need for Endpoint Data Security

The right endpoint security solution will help companies detect suspicious instances of data being moved around inside and outside of an organization. This can be accomplished through discovery, encryption, redaction, and classification tools—all of which PKWARE provides.

To secure endpoints, PKWARE’s PK Protect product suite detects sensitive data as files are created and modified, and takes automated action based on company policy. Then, when sensitive data is detected on laptops, desktops, mobile phones, or other points of entry, PK Protect immediately applies the correct form of remediation, including classification, encryption, masking, quarantine, or deletion.

• PK Discovery locates, identifies, counts, and reports on all sensitive data across an enterprise, from data repositories and servers to endpoint files. Then even when that data is moved, the solution continuously monitors it.
• PK Encryption encrypts data at all endpoints, as well as in large-scale cloud storage systems, database systems, and file servers. That means if sensitive data is shared via email message or attachment, for example, the tool incorporates encryption and decryption automatically. Documents, spreadsheets, and other sensitive files on endpoints or in the cloud remain safe from unauthorized access, even when saved to a message recipient’s computer or shared in the cloud.
• PK Masking applies masking or redaction of sensitive information across petabytes of data on endpoints and beyond. It automatically and permanently removes it as soon as it appears on computers, file servers, or in other network locations.
• PK Classification classifies data based on custom or predefined policies to ensure sensitive data security and privacy. Classification tags stay with files and emails wherever they travel, thereby informing users and automated systems on the type of data being handled.

No matter where data is moved—whether an employee took it on purpose or by accident—PK Protect ensures that data stays protected. Check out the full PK Protect suite of solutions and how they can help your organization stay secure. See it in action by requesting a personalized demo.