Wired Protect: Endpoint Security
Endpoint security is the discipline of protecting the devices people actually use to work — laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets, and the identities tied to them — from compromise by malware, ransomware, phishing, and credential theft. For South African businesses, endpoint security is the most cost-effective layer of cyber defence available: most breaches start at the endpoint, and modern endpoint protection (specifically EDR — Endpoint Detection and Response) catches 80–90% of threats that legacy antivirus misses.
The South African endpoint security market has shifted hard toward managed services in the last few years. The reason is the skills gap: an EDR platform like SentinelOne or Microsoft Defender for Business is only as effective as the security analysts who tune the policies, investigate the alerts, and respond to incidents. Most SMEs can't justify a 24/7 SOC; Wired Protect gives you the SOC capability without the headcount.
Wired Protect is a packaged endpoint and identity security service — protecting devices, accounts, and credentials against modern cyber threats.
What's Included in Wired Protect
1. Managed EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)
The technical core of Wired Protect. EDR replaces legacy antivirus with behaviour-based detection that catches threats AV doesn't see — including fileless malware, ransomware staging, and credential theft.
- SentinelOne EDR deployment and management
- 24/7 monitoring through our SOC
- Automated response for high-confidence threats (isolate device, kill process, rollback)
- Documented escalation to your team for ambiguous events
- Monthly EDR health and incident reports
2. Identity and Account Protection
The endpoint is the device; the account is the user. Both have to be protected, because attackers chain compromised endpoints to compromised identities to reach your data.
- Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace identity hardening
- MFA enforcement for all accounts (admin and standard)
- Conditional access policies (block sign-in from anomalous locations, devices, or risk levels)
- Privileged account monitoring
- Account compromise detection and response
3. Credential and Password Protection
Credential theft is the single most common initial access vector in SA SME breaches. We close the most common gaps.
- Password policy enforcement
- Compromised credential monitoring (against breach databases)
- Browser-stored credential review
- Removal of legacy authentication protocols (basic auth, IMAP, POP3)
- Optional rollout of password manager / passkeys
4. Patch and Vulnerability Management
A compromised endpoint is usually one with an unpatched vulnerability. We close them on a schedule.
- Automated OS patch deployment (Windows, macOS) with rollback windows
- Third-party application patching (Chrome, Firefox, Adobe, Java, common SaaS clients)
- Server patching coordination
- Vulnerability scan integration with prioritised remediation
5. Ransomware Defence
Specific to the threat most likely to hurt SA SMEs in a way that costs real money. Wired Protect layers controls so a single compromise can't take the whole business down.
- EDR-based ransomware behaviour detection
- Automated device isolation on suspected encryption activity
- Backup and immutable storage integration (via Wired Continuity)
- Documented ransomware incident response runbook
- Post-incident decryption attempt support
6. Reporting and Visibility
Endpoint security that you can't see is endpoint security you can't trust.
- Monthly executive report (threats blocked, devices protected, compliance status)
- Live dashboard access for your IT lead
- Per-device security posture scoring
- Compliance evidence for POPIA, ISO 27001, and cyber insurance
Wired Protect vs Full Cybersecurity-as-a-Service
| Capability | Wired Protect (productised) |
Cybersecurity-as-a-Service (full) |
|---|---|---|
| Managed EDR | ✓ Included | ✓ Included (WiredGuard) |
| Identity and account protection | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Patch management | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| 24/7 SOC monitoring | ✓ Included | ✓ Included (WiredDetect) |
| Vulnerability scanning | X | ✓ Included (WiredScan) |
| Penetration testing | ✗ | ✓ included (WiredScan) |
| Compliance audits and reporting | ✗ | ✓ Included (WiredAssure) |
| Perimeter / firewall management | ✗ | ✓ Included (WiredGuard) |
| Deployment | Productised, faster to stand up | Custom, full programme |
| Fit for | SMEs needing strong endpoint defence fast | Organisations needing full layered cyber programme |
How a Wired Protect Deployment Runs
Every deployment follows the same six phases — the timeline scales with the size of your endpoint estate. We agree realistic dates with you during scoping.
- Endpoint inventory and posture assessment. Confirm all devices, current AV/EDR state, OS versions, patch status.
- EDR agent rollout. Silent installation to all in-scope devices.
- Policy tuning. Calibrate detection sensitivity to your environment.
- Conditional access implementation. MFA, risk-based sign-in, device compliance.
- Baseline established. Full visibility, alerting tuned, response runbook in place.
- Ongoing. 24/7 monitoring, structured reporting, posture review on a documented cadence.
Measurable Outcomes
- Significant reduction in successful endpoint compromise vs legacy antivirus baselines
- 24/7 monitored security with documented response SLAs — no overnight blind spots
- Automated containment once compromise is detected
- Documented endpoint security posture mapped to POPIA and ISO 27001
- Strong patch compliance across the managed endpoint estate
- Reduced cyber insurance premiums — most SA insurers offer rate reductions for managed EDR
- Single point of accountability across endpoint, identity, and credential security
Frequently Asked Questions
What is endpoint security?
Endpoint security is the practice of protecting the devices that connect to your network — laptops, desktops, servers, phones, tablets — from malware, ransomware, phishing, and credential theft.
Modern endpoint security uses Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) technology that monitors device behaviour for signs of compromise, rather than the signature-matching approach of legacy antivirus.
For South African SMEs, managed endpoint security has become the practical baseline because the skills to operate EDR effectively are scarce and expensive.
What's the difference between antivirus and EDR?
Antivirus compares files against a database of known malware signatures — effective against threats seen before, blind to anything new.
EDR monitors device behaviour: what processes are running, what they're doing, what they're connecting to. Behaviour-based detection catches fileless attacks, ransomware staging, credential theft, and zero-day exploits that signature-based AV can't see.
Most modern endpoint security products (SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, CrowdStrike) are EDR with antivirus included.
What's the difference between Wired Protect and your full Cybersecurity-as-a-Service?
Wired Protect is the productised, endpoint-and-identity-focused service — fixed monthly cost per device, defined scope, fast deployment.
Our broader Cybersecurity-as-a-Service is the full layered programme — adding compliance management, vulnerability and risk assessment, threat detection across the entire environment, and perimeter security.
Many clients start with Wired Protect and upgrade to CSaaS as their security posture matures.
Does Wired Protect work with Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace?
Yes. Both Microsoft and Google ecosystems are explicitly supported.
We can layer SentinelOne EDR on top of Microsoft Defender for Business for businesses that already have a Defender investment, or use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint as the primary EDR.
Google Workspace environments we use SentinelOne or Defender alongside Google's native identity protection.
How quickly can Wired Protect be deployed?
Deployment time depends on the size of your endpoint estate, but a typical engagement moves through agent rollout, policy tuning, conditional access implementation, and baseline monitoring in that sequence.
New devices added to the protected estate are enrolled at provisioning, with no additional deployment delay. We'll quote a realistic timeline during scoping.
Does Wired Protect support BYOD?
Yes, with appropriate scoping. Personal devices accessing business data via Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace can be protected through Microsoft Intune mobile application management or Google Workspace mobile management — protecting the business data without taking control of the user's personal device.
Fully managed BYOD (where the user's personal laptop is enrolled in EDR) is supported with explicit user consent.