Endpoint

Any device that connects to your business network or data, such as a laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, server, printer or point-of-sale terminal.

Endpoints are where people actually work and where data is created, viewed and stored. They are also where most attacks begin, whether through a malicious email attachment, a compromised website or a stolen device. With hybrid and remote work, many endpoints now spend much of their time outside the office on home or public networks.

Each endpoint adds to your attack surface. A single unmanaged laptop that misses updates or lacks security software can become the entry point for an attack on the whole business. Small businesses often find they have more devices than they realized, including personal phones accessing email and old computers sitting in a back room.

Practical tip: keep a current inventory of every device that can access company data, and make sure each one is encrypted, protected with endpoint security, receiving updates and locked with a PIN or password. Device management tools can enforce these settings automatically and let you wipe a lost or stolen device remotely.