As data becomes the currency by which modern commerce is conducted, governments and legislative bodies have been slow to react to protect their citizens’ digital property. Forward-thinking and technically astute enterprises have been ahead of the minimum standards of cybersecurity for some time, but new ventures may not comply with today’s digital security standards.

In Europe, for instance, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is causing significant change – and this directive also has ramifications across the globe. The U.S. has its own guidelines for cybersecurity suggested by peri-governmental organizations like the SANS Institute. In Australia, the government acted relatively early, with the Australian Signals Directorate (part of the Department of Defense) publishing its directives:

• Use application whitelisting to help prevent malicious software and unapproved programs from running.
• Patch applications such as Flash, web browsers, Microsoft Office, Java, and PDF viewers.
• Patch operating systems.
• Restrict administrative privileges to operating systems and applications based on user duties.

Wherever your organization may be located, the overall tenet of these directives should be followed as a matter of course. And with the changing nature of the digital workplace, using a unified, software-driven approach to network and endpoint security is the key to preserving business continuity.

Formed from the conglomeration of Landesk and Heat Software, Ivanti provides some of the most up-to-date endpoint security software for businesses of all sizes. Here, “up-to-date” is particularly important, due to the exponential rise in the number of network-enabled devices at use in business. Users are bringing their own devices to the workplace, network traffic is carrying IoT data from sensors and automated devices, differing OSes are appearing on the network, and every new smart device wants to broadcast on the LAN. It’s into this sea of threat possibilities that Ivanti’s unified security provisioning can bring calm and order.

Manual or fully automated processes can audit an entire, geographically diverse network of OSes, applications, devices, and technologies. Then, from a single console, Ivanti solutions can push updates to older systems – patching OSes across the most heterogeneous topologies and applying third-party updates (Adobe, Java, Chrome) – quarantine potential vulnerabilities, or prevent access altogether on a group or individual basis. They can also find unauthorized software and unused software (recouping needless license costs).

Unlike traditional audit/protect cycles, Ivanti’s solutions allow second-by-second vigilance: as devices request to join a network or services appear, they can be examined and responded to. Ivanti also provides privilege-based management of new installs and configuration changes on any endpoint device: Windows, Mac, Linux, on-chip OS, thin client, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and so on.

The company offers standalone security solutions as well as add-ons to customers’ enterprise device management solutions such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. By helping to converge endpoint management and security, and in fact gathering endpoint management, asset management, service management, and endpoint security under one umbrella, Ivanti provides the modern enterprise with more than the box-ticking exercise some legislative bodies require. It helps prevent and mitigate threats with unified and automated security provisioning, isolating malware and reducing human error.

To learn more about how one of Ivanti’s 36 offices in 23 countries can help your organization protect its endpoints and users from the worst the Internet has to throw at it, get in contact with a local representative today.