Beyond the Collision Zone: Operating in a Hostile Endpoint Environment
This operational success story describes how a major Korean government agency stabilized one of the most complex endpoint environments in the public sector by deploying Genian NAC and EDR as its execution layer for security operations.
In an environment where multiple security and compliance systems compete to modify the same OS state, the agency chose to move beyond traditional “Policy Gates.”
The result was a governed endpoint estate where compliance, patching, identity, and threat response are enforced in real time. Architectural Sovereignty means the agency—not individual tools—controls how enforcement happens across the endpoint estate.
Agent Cannibalization: Reclaiming the OS State
Recovery logic becomes the primary attack surface. In dense security stacks, “agent cannibalization” occurs when one security tool misidentifies another as a threat. Both systems are “correct,” but the environment remains broken.
- The Conflict: A fully compliant Data Loss Prevention (DLP) system was systematically deleting NAC agent integrity files, triggering an endless self-healing loop of re-installations.
- Agency Action — Runtime Isolation: The security team deployed a Runtime Isolation Boundary using Genian NAC, implementing a deletion exclusion policy. By establishing an Execution Boundary between competing controls, the agency secured the NAC agent’s survival without compromising the DLP’s mission.
Patch Authority: Unifying the Source of Truth
Security friction often stems from a conflict between different authorities. When Microsoft, an internal WSUS, and a NAC remediation engine all claim to have the Truth about a patch state, the user is caught in the crossfire.
- Architectural Failure Mode — Three systems asserted truth. None could see the shared operational whole.
- The Conflict: Users were blocked from the network even after completing updates due to a mismatch between the NAC’s default logic and the local WSUS infrastructure.
- Agency Action — Patch Authority Unification: The agency aligned NAC enforcement with its internal WSUS by redefining the data plane priority. The NAC agent was re-engineered to prioritize the internal WSUS information stored in the local registry, synchronizing security policy with actual operational reality.
Identity Integrity: Restructuring the Control Plane
Automating user and department data via Active Directory (AD) is a prerequisite for Zero Trust. However, misidentifying a machine as a person—or vice versa—collapses the entire trust model.
- The Conflict: Identity data would intermittently “ghost” or generate abnormal strings, leading to high-risk Identity Collisions.
- Agency Action — Identity Control Plane: The agency restructured its AD synchronization using a Granular Sync Query. By utilizing PrimaryGroupID filters to explicitly separate User groups (513) from Computer groups (515) and applying regex to filter out non-person IDs, the agency achieved the data precision required for a reliable Identity Engine. This is a critical operational differentiator.
Score-Based Enforcement: Making Compliance Enforceable
Public sector mandates often demand theoretical perfection. However, security that cannot be operated in the field is a liability.
- The Philosophy: Compliance metrics must reflect what can actually be fixed, not what is theoretically demanded.
- Agency Action — Enforceable Compliance: The agency linked security scores directly to network access, enforcing a block on any node scoring below 95 points. By refining the query logic for template visibility and scoring, the agency ensured that “uncheckable” items did not unfairly penalize users, creating a balanced enforcement environment.
Strategic Evolution: Choosing Operability over “Shelfware”
The agency is now extending its endpoint visibility through EDR, rejecting the bloated System Integration (SI) model where security exists only in PowerPoint, tickets, escalations, and change requests.
- The Shift: Security that cannot be operated by internal teams becomes shelfware.
- Agency Action — Agent Consolidation: Instead of a new, complex SI project, the agency extended its NAC footprint with EDR. This Agent Consolidation reduced the “agent tax” while providing practitioners with surgical response tools (file collection, forced deletion, live containment) required to manage real-time threats.
Conclusion: A Resilient, Governable Estate
The agency now operates one of the most resilient and governable endpoint estates in the Korean public sector, with Genian NAC and EDR serving as its execution layer.
By resolving agent cannibalization, reconciling authority conflicts, and ensuring identity precision, the agency has proven that effective security is defined by how well a tool absorbs field complexity.
Compliance is enforced. Identity is reliable. Patching reflects reality. Threat response happens in real time. The agency no longer manages a mere collection of devices; it governs an integrated endpoint estate within one of the world’s most operationally hostile endpoint environments.
