From end to end: How user and PC security define modern enterprise resilience
Rarely a week goes by without headlines of an organisation having suffered some sort of cybersecurity incident. The first half of 2026 has already seen major institutions like Statistics South Africa and the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa suffer ransomware attacks, as well as the University of the Witwatersrand, which was recently affected by a data breach involving its student learning management system.
And these are just the incidents that actually make the headlines. Across South Africa’s enterprise landscape, organisations’ approach to cybersecurity remains rooted in analogue systems and methodologies that no longer align with today’s technologies and threats against digital infrastructure. This is especially true for smaller enterprises with limited resources and whose technology infrastructure may only encompass a few, hard-worked PCs.
But security is not, and should never be considered, a luxury expense for any enterprise. Part of improving an organisation’s security posture is looking at how people use technology and how one helps protect the other. With the right mindset and solutions, enterprises can achieve always-on security and protect users, devices and networks.
Addressing the human factor
It’s easy for a business to assume that, because they’ve invested in an expensive piece of software, their organisation and employees are protected from cyberthreats. The reality is that most threats originate from employees not adhering to best security practices or the business itself lacking the means to enforce said practices, or visibility across the infrastructure they use.
According to Zoho’s State of Workforce Password Security 2026 report, there are significant gaps in workforce password security, with 36% of organisations reporting cyberattacks and 79% lacking complete visibility into user identities and access. That means enterprises are unable to enforce password policies, monitor privileged accounts and manage third-party access, making credentials one of the most consistently exploited vulnerabilities.
The adoption of remote and hybrid work models compounds this issue, leading to IT that’s distributed across different locations and thus making network oversight a greater challenge for enterprise teams. On top of that, employees may be using devices connected to networks in uncontrolled environments, adding another layer of physical risk and making security and best practices all the more critical.
Endpoint protection: Security at all levels
With each enterprise PC serving as a potential point of entry for cybercriminals, and in the case of distributed IT infrastructure where devices from Cape Town to Johannesburg are connecting to the network, organisations can no longer rely on a perimeter-based protection model when it comes to cybersecurity. Instead, the focus needs to shift towards hardware-level protection across every endpoint on the network.
A critical part of the global cybersecurity ecosystem, endpoint protection uses a combination of network and device-level defences to monitor and protect devices and their users. For example, an organisation can use it to restrict a device’s access to the network based on their level of privilege or compliance with company-wide security policies. Organisations can also deploy standalone solutions installed on devices that let them remotely monitor usage, as well as make use of encryption to protect sensitive data.
Endpoint protection also works hand-in-hand with best practices. Organisations should keep their employees up to date with regular security and compliance training, and require them to use complex passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA). At the same time, they also exercise the necessary responsibility by ensuring devices and software are kept up to date, and alerting users in the event of any cyber incident.
Always-on security for maximum resilience
At a time when enterprises may be considering upgrading their hardware in the face of looming shortages and price increases, it’s never been more critical that cybersecurity factors into their purchasing decisions. Security itself used to be something you purchase after the PC, but that’s no longer the case as enterprise-grade hardware comes equipped with the latest end-to-end solutions.
Case in point, a solution like ASUS ExpertGuardian is a comprehensive security package, offering multi-layered defence, intelligent threat detection and real-time firmware protection, all working together to protect devices, users and their data. ExpertGuardian also serves as a management tool for enterprises, letting them monitor devices and manage their configurations in the event of an incident, which is essential as workforces are no longer contained within company premises.
There is a need for always-on security. So, organisations need to ensure their hardware is equipped with essentials such as hardware-based cryptography and protection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and even identity verification methods such as biometric authentication that mean organisations and employees no longer have to rely only on passwords.
Combined with best practices, enterprises in South Africa can improve their security postures and ensure their technology and infrastructure are protected. Because the best security should work from start to finish. Or rather, end to end.
