Endpoint

• desktop, smartphones, tablets,
• laptops, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

• Routers Switches
• Network gateways Firewalls
• Load balancers

Going back to the example above,
when Bob and Alice talk on the phone,
the cell tower that transmits their conversation is NOT an endpoint for their data exchange
it is the medium by which the exchange occurs.

As a further example,
imagine a grocery store that

• has several cash registers connected to the store's network
• a router that connects the store's network to the Internet,
• an internal server that stores records of each day's transactions,
• and multiple employees who connect their personal smartphones to the store's WiFi.
  The router would be considered CPE.
  The rest of these devices are endpoints on the store's network,

In a business context, attackers often target endpoints
because a COMPROMISED ENDPOINT
can be an entry point into an otherwise secure corporate network.
-> An attacker may NOT be able to get through firewall,
-> but an employee's laptop could be a slightly easier target.

IT teams have

• less access to endpoints than the internal networking infrastructure

Because this endpoints are at hands of the employee, not the IT teams
-> one employee at a company regularly update their laptop and avoid risky online behaviors, --> another might avoid software updates and download unsecure files onto their laptop

The difficulty of securing endpoints and importance of protecting endpoint,
has its own category of cyber security endpoint security

1. https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/security/glossary/what-is-endpoint/