Everyone knows that there’s no such thing as 100% security, but it’s unlikely that most businesses realize how insecure they really are. New research on endpoint security shows just how vulnerable corporate networks are.
Eighty-one percent of corporate endpoints probed by IT security and control product vendor Sophos failed basic security tests: They either lacked Microsoft security patches, their client firewalls were disabled, or they missed endpoint security software updates.
For 40 days, Sophos ran its Endpoint Assessment Test, a free online scanning service that checks for endpoint security vulnerabilities. The Endpoint Assessment Test was performed against 583 corporate endpoints from around the world. North America represented 39% of the sample base, while the U.K. made up 36%, and Australia and Germany were 11% and nine percent respectively (5% were from other countries).
Test results showed that 63% were missing at least one Microsoft security patch; more than half (51%) of endpoints tested had their client firewalls disabled, and 15% had out-of-date or disabled endpoint security software.
“Ultimately, machines that fail such a test represent ‘low hanging fruit’ for cybercriminals and a real danger to their corporate networks,” Bill Emerick, vice president of product management for Network Access Control, said in a statement.
Sophos says 39% of those tested were part of an organization with fewer than 100 employees; 36% had between 100 and 1,000 employees; and 25% were from organizations with more than 1,000 employees.
