The average cost of a data breach has risen to $4.88 million in 2025 from $4.45 million in 2023, with endpoints being the most common entry points for attackers. This increase in breaches reveals an uncomfortable truth: traditional endpoint security, built on static, check-the-box compliance, is no longer effective. In its place is a chaotic collection of managed laptops, personal smartphones, and IoT sensors connecting over unsecured home networks and public Wi-Fi. For chief information security officers, this new perimeter turns every device into a potential vulnerability. Keep reading to explore adaptive solutions to device security, and protect sensitive company data.
The Illusion of Static Compliance
Comprehensive visibility and control over all connected endpoints are the foundations of strong device security. However, maintaining that visibility becomes increasingly complex as organizations scale and adopt bring-your-own-device policies. Traditional security measures often fall short in addressing the dynamic nature of modern threats, especially with the explosion of device types.
Relying on static compliance checks is a critical flaw in legacy strategies. In outdated models, a device is considered secure if it has the right agent installed, an updated OS, and disk encryption enabled, promoting a false sense of security. This narrow view doesn’t account for real-time risks and evolving configurations, such as:
Compromised credentials: Even if a device meets all compliance requirements, an attacker using stolen credentials can easily gain unauthorized access, turning the device into a vulnerable entry point.
Risky connections: When employees connect from untrusted or insecure networks, like public Wi-Fi, their devices become exposed to man-in-the-middle attacks that can intercept sensitive data.
Anomalous behavior: Devices may show unusual activity, such as accessing unexpected files or communicating with suspicious IP addresses, that signals a breach, even if they appear compliant during routine scans.
More than 60% of security incidents can be linked back to unsecured or non-compliant endpoints. This highlights the gap between meeting a checklist and achieving genuine security. Proactive monitoring and real-time reporting are essential for identifying vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
From Binary Checks to Adaptive Trust
The future of endpoint security is adaptive. Meaning, organizations use a model built on the principles of zero trust that points to never trusting, but always verifying connections. Instead of a simple compliant or non-compliant verdict, this approach uses a rich set of contextual signals to make intelligent access decisions in real time.
At the same time, adaptive trust continuously assesses device health and user context to build a dynamic risk score. This assessment allows for granular, policy-based access controls. For example, a user on a fully patched corporate laptop on the office network gets full access. The same user, on a personal phone, from an airport Wi-Fi network, might only get access to email and not sensitive financial applications.
The zero trust model transforms security from a broad, one-size-fits-all approach into a precise, context-driven strategy. Key signals include:
Device Health
Is the OS patched?
Are security agents running correctly?
Is malware present?
User Identity
Has the user been authenticated using multi-factor verification?
Is their account showing any signs of suspicious activity or access attempts?
Location
Is the user connecting from an anticipated or trusted geographical area?
Has there been any unusual or sudden change in their login locations?
Network Trust
Is the network connection secure and recognized as legitimate?
Has the network shown any signs of suspicious activity or anomalies recently?
Behavioral Analytics
Is the user’s activity consistent with their normal patterns?
Are there any sudden spikes or deviations that could indicate compromise?
By integrating adaptive access policies based on this data, organizations can add a powerful layer of precision to their security protocols. Businesses that implement these strategies report significant reductions in unauthorized access incidents, enhancing overall operational resilience. To put adaptive trust into practice, enterprises need a set of integrated technologies that turn continuous assessment into automated control.
Key Pillars of an Adaptive Security Framework
Implementing an adaptive trust model isn’t about a single product. It’s about integrating several technologies to create a unified security fabric that provides deep visibility and automated control.
Endpoint detection and response: These solutions are the foundation, providing continuous monitoring and threat detection directly on the endpoint. They collect telemetry on processes, network connections, and user activity, offering the raw data needed to spot anomalies that signal a compromise.
Zero trust network access: This approach replaces legacy VPNs by creating secure, one-to-one connections between users and specific applications. Critically, zero trust network access enforces access policies based on identity and device posture before granting a connection, effectively hiding applications from unauthorized or non-compliant devices.
Security service edge: Security service edge platforms combine zero trust network access with other cloud-native security services like secure web gateway and cloud access security broker. This consolidation provides a consistent security policy for all users, regardless of location, and simplifies management for IT teams.
Organizations are strengthening remote workforce security by integrating endpoint detection and response with zero trust network access. This combination enables them to enforce adaptive access policies that grant users entry only to authorized environments and only from verified devices running active security agents. As a result, they respond to potential threats in minutes instead of hours and significantly reduce the risk of data breaches.
A Quick-Read Implementation Guide
Adopting an adaptive trust model takes time and deliberate planning. Enterprises must follow a strategic, step-by-step approach that delivers measurable risk reduction at each stage. Instead of rushing the process, they can build trust gradually through continuous evaluation and improvement.
First 30 Days: Gain Visibility
Deploy an endpoint detection and response solution across all corporate endpoints to start collecting baseline telemetry.
Identify and classify all devices connecting to the network, including bring-your-own-device and IoT.
Map critical applications and data stores to understand access patterns.
Next 60 Days: Introduce Adaptive Controls
Implement a zero trust network access solution for a pilot group of users and applications.
Develop initial adaptive access policies based on device compliance and user identity.
Integrate your endpoint detection and response and identity provider with the zero trust network access platform to automate checks.
Next 90 Days: Scale and Refine
Expand zero trust network access deployment across the organization, decommissioning legacy VPNs as you go.
Refine access policies with more granular contextual signals, like location and user behavior.
Establish KPIs to measure success, such as a reduction in security incidents, faster threat response times, and improved user experience.
The shift to adaptive security reduces risk and improves business agility. It enables secure remote work, simplifies contractor onboarding, and ensures consistent security in a multi-cloud world.
Conclusion: Toward Proactive Resilience
Endpoint security can no longer rely on static compliance checklists or outdated assumptions. As threats grow more advanced and endpoints more diverse, enterprises must adopt a dynamic, risk-aware approach. Adaptive trust, powered by real-time signals from endpoint detection and response, zero trust network access, and behavioral analytics, is the path toward reliable security.
Businesses can promote endpoint security by gaining full visibility into all devices, then implement adaptive controls that adjust to risk in real time. Integrating these approaches creates a unified security framework that supports secure access without slowing down the business. With a phased, strategic rollout, your organization can move from reactive protection to proactive resilience, staying ahead of threats while enabling the flexibility modern work demands.
