New report from Absolute Software reveals enterprise devices connect to four different locations per month

Enterprise devices are, on average, connecting to four separate locations each month, during the era of hybrid working, according to a new report from Absolute Software, a globally renowned company in self-healing endpoint and secure access solutions.

Absolute Software’s new report, titled ‘The Value of Zero Trust in a Work-from-Anywhere World’, observed information from almost five million devices containing Absolute Software’s zero-trust solutions across 12,000 customer organisations in Europe and North America.

Absolute Software’s new report findings

The analysis revealed that as of March 2022, Absolute-enabled enterprise devices connected from more than 4 different locations each month, highlighting the mobility of today’s hybrid workforce.

Absolute Software’s analysis also found that 16 per cent of enterprise devices were unencrypted

In January 2022, enterprise devices were connecting, on average from 3.43 different locations, a figure which jumped by 18 per cent in March 2022, with the number of locations reaching 4.05.

Alarmingly, Absolute Software’s analysis also found that 16 per cent of enterprise devices were unencrypted, and that, on average, Windows 10 OS devices were 77 days out of date with their latest patching.

Absolute Software – BlackBerry partnership

As part of their efforts to bolster their endpoint security portfolio, in the era of work-from-anywhere, Absolute Software has partnered with BlackBerry to enable joint customers to augment BlackBerry’s CylancePROTECT with Absolute Software’s Application Persistence capabilities.

Through this, customers can extend Absolute Software’s firmware-embedded, self-healing device connection to BlackBerry’s leading Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), in order to ensure devices and data remain healthy, regardless of where they are located.

Need to enhance endpoint security

Achi Lewis, the Area Vice President (VP) - EMEA for Absolute Software, commented “With workforces dispersed between the office, their homes, cafes and other locations, it is imperative to place heavy emphasis on endpoint security to ensure safe connection to business networks.”

Achi Lewis adds, “Companies cannot allow employees to harbour unencrypted devices or devices running significantly behind the latest patch, else they risk severe, costly breaches, which can easily be avoided. All devices must be kept up to date and resilient Zero Trust policies put in place, to ensure both employee devices and each organisation’s network are properly protected.”

Importance of implementing a Zero Trust strategy

The shift to remote and hybrid work has changed the nature of endpoint and network security indefinitely"

Christy Wyatt, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Absolute Software, said “The shift to remote and hybrid work has changed the nature of endpoint and network security indefinitely, and has brought Zero Trust heavily into focus.”

Christy Wyatt adds, “But implementing a Zero Trust strategy cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop, with the purchase of a clearly defined set of tools; there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Every organisation should be re-imagining their Zero Trust architectures to start with the endpoint, capable of extending from device firmware to the network edge – and with a clear focus on resilience.”

Extending Absolute’s security to CylancePROTECT

Alex Willis, the Vice President (VP) of Technical Solutions at BlackBerry, said “Organisations across the globe rely on our EPP every day to protect their most valuable assets from sophisticated actors, who are continuously innovating, and evolving their attack methods and vectors.”

Alex Willis adds, “The ability to extend Absolute’s undeletable line of defence and self-healing to CylancePROTECT gives us the confidence that we are delivering on our promise of keeping our customers safe from zero-day exploits, ransomware, and other malicious activity in today’s perimeter-less workplaces.”