The financial sector continues to be victimized by cyberattacks, making it the third-most targeted sector after healthcare and manufacturing. The finance sector alone reported 2,527 incidents, 690 of which ended up in disclosure of data. 

In the always vulnerable finance industry, it's critical for organizations to employ an endpoint management system in addition to an antivirus solution in order to shield themselves. Employing an endpoint management system that has built-in antivirus capabilities is an added advantage.

Take a look at this list of prominent cybersecurity challenges and learn how you can effectively safeguard your organization.

1. First things first—Risk is everybody's responsibility:
   The human element was responsible for 82% of all breaches that occurred in 2021. Training employees is just as important as scanning a system for vulnerabilities. Make it a point to conduct risk assessments at least once a year. Inform employees about fraudulent websites that might look real. Additionally, counsel them against keeping crucial files on their desktop and to instead store them in a vault.

2. Beware of phishing nets:
   In the cyber sea, threat actors are the anglers. They cast their phishing nets through malvertising. Their mantra is "good things come to those who bait." In this digital age, it's crucial to be on guard and make sure you don't fall for phishing emails or banking Trojans. This keeps you from becoming easy prey.

3. Block those nasty EXE downloads:
   Investing in a good endpoint management solution that blocks executables keeps automatic downloads of executables at bay. These executables, which are frequently included in phishing emails, have the potential to harm your entire organization.

4. Stay up to date around the clock: 
   Every second counts in cyber hygiene. Applying OS updates and other patches to all your endpoints regularly as soon as they're available helps prevent hackers from exploiting vulnerabilities. Regular vulnerability scanning and rigorous patching via endpoint management software can keep the threat actors away.

5. Browser sandboxing is a thing now:
   Browsers are like a double-edged sword, making them a favorite tool of threat actors. You can't always stop employees from accessing different sites, but with an endpoint management tool, you can sandbox, or compartmentalize, the browsers they use. When you sandbox browsers, untrusted sites can still be opened without affecting the organization or retaining data or downloads. With browser security as an addition to endpoint management, you can easily block web-based threats.

6. Restrict applications and employ an app store:
   Only allow access to secure apps and trusted websites. You can always implement application restrictions for both computers and mobile devices to eliminate unnecessary applications and safelist select applications that you trust, ensuring maximum safety. Instruct employees to install applications from a recognized store like Google Play and to refrain from installing them via links. Use an endpoint management solution that has a self-service portal bundled in it. This ensures your employees can only install the apps that you deem trustworthy.

7. Finally, regularly update the antivirus software you use: 
   Software updates are essential, regardless of the sector to which your organization belongs. If you don't update your antivirus software and you continue using outdated software for which security updates are no longer available, you will be vulnerable to data breaches, as was the case in the Flagstar Bank data breach.

Having an antivirus solution is not enough in this era. You need to move doors and create false doors and windows to prevent threat actors from penetrating your organization. Employing an endpoint management and security solution adds an extra layer of defense to your enterprise.