Check Point Endpoint Security

Why do you need Check Point Endpoint Security?

The workstation remains the place where cybersecurity meets everyday work — and where it is decided whether opening an attachment ends in an incident. Choosing a platform is about how many layers of protection fit into a single agent and what the agent does when something still gets through: whether it can undo the change, or only report it.

Ransomware does not have to be sophisticated to be expensive — it only has to encrypt data faster than anyone can react. That is why signature-based detection alone is not enough: you need protection that prevents, detects and remediates the effects of an attack.

Check Point Endpoint Security is the solution previously known as Check Point Harmony Endpoint. The vendor describes it as endpoint protection that combines EPP, EDR and XDR capabilities in a single client and a single management console. The approach is prevention-first: a file can be analyzed in a sandbox before it reaches the user, and a document can be delivered in a version stripped of active content.

How does it work?

Multi-layered prevention

The vendor describes a prevention-first approach made up of:

• Threat Emulation — files from attachments, downloads and links in email are analyzed in a sandbox to detect new and unknown malware
• Threat Extraction — content that could be exploited is removed from documents, and the user receives a sanitized copy
• Anti-Exploit — protects legitimate applications from having their vulnerabilities exploited; when an exploit is detected, the process is shut down
• Behavioral Guard — constant monitoring of files and network activity for suspicious behavior

Anti-Ransomware with file restoration

According to the administration guide:

• Anti-Ransomware creates decoy (honeypot) files on the workstation and stops the attack when ransomware modifies them
• before ransomware can encrypt files, the agent backs them up to a safe location
• after the attack is stopped, it deletes the files involved in it and restores the originals from the backup
• detection relies on behavior typical of ransomware, not on signatures

Forensics and Threat Hunting

• When a malicious event is detected, a Forensics analysis starts automatically and the entire attack sequence is presented in a report
• Malicious files can be quarantined automatically according to policy
• Threat Hunting lets you search malicious and benign events collected from endpoints
• Endpoint events can be correlated with other vectors in Check Point XDR/XPR

Key features

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

• Anti-Malware, Anti-Bot and Anti-Exploit
• Firewall with rules for IP addresses, domains, ports and protocols
• Application Control — allow, block or terminate applications and processes
• Port Protection — authorization for access to storage devices and other input/output devices
• Blocking of IoCs: domains, IP addresses, URLs and file hashes

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

• Collection of raw and detected events from endpoints
• Automated Forensics reports
• Threat Hunting with a query language
• Mapping of events to MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques

Data and compliance

• Full Disk Encryption and removable media encryption
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) on the endpoint
• Endpoint Compliance — endpoints that do not comply with policy are marked as non-compliant and can receive a restrictive policy

Secure access and the browser

• Remote Access VPN client that encrypts the traffic of remote workers
• Zero-Phishing — protection against unknown phishing sites
• URL Filtering in a browser extension
• Detection of corporate password reuse on external sites

Who is it for?

• Organizations for which ransomware and phishing are the main risk scenario
• Companies with remote and hybrid employees
• Environments with Windows, macOS, Linux, servers and VDI under one policy
• Teams that want to replace several agents with one

When does Check Point Endpoint Security make sense for your organization?

Endpoint protection is not an “install and forget” project. It delivers the most value where the workstation is both the most frequent entry point of an attack and a place the IT team does not see day to day.

Laptops work outside the office, and the policy has to work the same way

A hybrid employee connects from home, from a hotel and from a client’s office, and the firewall at headquarters does not see that traffic. The agent moves protection onto the device: the policy is managed from the Check Point Portal cloud console, the documentation provides separate rules for endpoints connected to and disconnected from the corporate network, and the Remote Access VPN client encrypts traffic to corporate resources. Zero-Phishing in the browser also works when a link arrives from outside corporate email.

Ransomware aims to encrypt files before anyone reacts

In this scenario, what matters is what the agent does without a human. Anti-Ransomware stops the attack once it modifies the decoy files, and files encrypted before the attack was stopped are restored from the backup. The Forensics report shows the attack sequence — material for closing the gap, not just for the incident record.

The IT team has no round-the-clock monitoring

Automated prevention works without a human, but alerts, Forensics reports and Threat Hunting results need someone who reads them and decides on the response. If the organization has no such team, a partner can run the platform: Check Point supports management by a managed security service provider (MSSP). At nFlo, that is the Managed EDR/XDR service.

How does Check Point Mobile Security protect smartphones and tablets?

A company phone connects to public Wi-Fi networks, installs apps outside the IT team’s control and opens links from messaging apps. Threats therefore affect four areas at once: apps, files, the network and the operating system itself. The general principles are covered in the glossary entry on mobile device security; here — how Check Point approaches it.

The vendor lists mobile devices among the platforms supported by Endpoint Security, and protects smartphones and tablets with a separate product: Check Point Mobile Security (formerly Harmony Mobile). According to the administration guide, the solution consists of the Mobile Security Protect app for iOS and Android, a cloud-based risk engine (Behavioral Risk Engine), the Mobile Security Gateway and a console in Check Point Portal — the same one used to manage agents on computers.

Capabilities described in the documentation:

• app analysis for known and unknown threats,
• prevention of man-in-the-middle attacks on cellular and Wi-Fi networks,
• blocking phishing in all apps — email, messaging and social media,
• cutting off infected devices from corporate applications and data,
• on-device network protection: Anti-Phishing, Safe Browsing, URL Filtering and Anti-Bot.

The engine assigns the device a risk score that determines the automatic response. The app examines anonymized data and moves heavier analysis to the cloud. Mobile Security integrates with UEM systems, including Microsoft Intune, Workspace ONE and Jamf Pro, which can enforce policy on devices at elevated risk.

Why deploy Check Point Endpoint Security with nFlo?

Endpoint protection depends on the policy and on who reads the alerts, not only on the agent itself. In a Check Point Endpoint Security project, the nFlo team:

• inventories workstations, servers and mobile devices and determines which modules will cover each group,
• designs the policy: prevention, Anti-Ransomware, Forensics, port control, encryption and rules for disconnected endpoints,
• deploys the agent with the tools the organization already uses and moves management to the console,
• maintains the platform and analyzes events — also as a managed service.

Protection run by nFlo analysts is described in the Managed EDR/XDR service. Start a conversation about your environment through contact; you can read about nFlo’s cooperation with the vendor on the Check Point page.

FAQ

How does Check Point Endpoint Security differ from a traditional antivirus? A traditional antivirus mainly detects known threats based on signatures. Check Point Endpoint Security combines several layers in a single agent: Threat Emulation and Threat Extraction for files, Anti-Exploit, Behavioral Guard, Anti-Ransomware with file restoration and EDR capabilities such as Forensics and Threat Hunting. According to the vendor, it protects against known and unknown threats, including zero-day attacks.

How does Anti-Ransomware with file restoration work? The agent creates decoy files on the workstation and watches for behavior typical of ransomware. Before an attack can encrypt files, it backs them up to a safe location. When it detects that the decoy files were modified, it stops the attack, deletes the files involved in it and restores the originals from the backup. Logs, alerts and a Forensics report are created along the way.

How does the agent affect workstation performance? According to the documentation, the solution combines technologies that run locally on the workstation and in the vendor’s cloud. The load depends on the enabled modules and policy settings, which is why we start a deployment with a pilot group of representative workstations and only then extend the policy to the whole organization.

Does Check Point Endpoint Security replace a separate VPN client? The agent includes a Remote Access VPN component that lets remote workers securely use applications and data in the company’s data center, encrypting the traffic the user sends and receives. Whether VPN is enabled in a given policy is decided in the project.

Does Check Point Endpoint Security protect smartphones and tablets? The vendor lists mobile devices among the supported platforms, and smartphones and tablets running iOS and Android are protected by Check Point Mobile Security: an app on the device, cloud-based risk scoring and a console in Check Point Portal. Details are in the mobile devices section above.

Can nFlo run Check Point Endpoint Security as a managed service? Yes. The platform supports management by a service provider (MSSP), and at nFlo this is the Managed EDR/XDR service: nFlo analysts review alerts and Forensics reports, carry out Threat Hunting and tune the policy. The scope of the service is agreed before the start.

What needs to be prepared before deployment? A list of operating systems and endpoint groups, a decision on the management model (cloud, on-premises server or service provider) and a tool for distributing the agent — the documentation describes deployment via SCCM and Microsoft Intune, among others. It is also worth planning the Active Directory integration and a pilot group. Organizations with an on-premises management server will find a description of migration to Check Point Portal in the documentation.