Endpoint Protection Gaps and Where They Pop Up in Veterinary Practices

Posted by Computer Solutions on February 9, 2026

Ransomware gangs aren’t just targeting your front desk computer. They’re looking for the forgotten devices. Could be the laptops no one updates anymore, the staff tablet in the breakroom, or the shared label printer in the back office. These are your endpoint protection gaps and attackers are counting on you to ignore them.

If you don’t know what every device on your network is doing (or not doing), you’ve already given attackers their way in.

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Why Endpoint Protection Gaps Are a Problem in Vet Clinics

Veterinary practices rely on a mix of desktops, laptops, mobile devices, IoT equipment, and specialty tools. It’s not uncommon for just one practice to have:

• Exam room PCs
• Laptops for remote staff or practice owners
• Digital X-ray machines
• PIMS-connected printers and label makers
• Payment processing tablets
• Ultrasound machines with outdated software
• Personal devices connecting to Wi-Fi

And while your main computers might have antivirus or EDR software installed, are you sure every other device does too?

Attackers aren’t guessing. They use automated tools to scan your entire network and find unprotected endpoints. Once they locate one, they use it to quietly spread laterally, hopping from device to device until they reach something critical.

That’s why endpoint protection gaps aren’t small problems. They’re the soft underbelly of your network.

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How These Gaps Get Missed

In veterinary settings, these gaps tend to emerge gradually and go unnoticed. Common examples include:

• Devices used infrequently that miss critical updates
• Laptops that are used off-site and never connected to clinic security tools
• New equipment that gets added without going through an IT team
• Cloud services accessed on personal devices with no oversight
• “Utility machines” like label printers or bloodwork stations that are rarely secured

It’s not that practices are careless. They’re busy. And most of these devices “just work” until the moment they’re used against you.

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What Happens When a Ransomware Gang Finds a Gap

Here’s a real-world example of how it plays out:

1. A neglected laptop used once a week for backups hasn’t had security updates in months.
2. An attacker accesses it through a known vulnerability.
3. They use the device to scan the local network and reach the practice’s main file server.
4. With admin credentials found on the laptop, they deploy ransomware across the entire environment.
5. By the time the staff arrives the next morning, PIMS, email, and billing tools are all encrypted.

This kind of lateral movement happens fast and usually through the path of least resistance.

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What Every Vet Clinic Should Do

To close endpoint protection gaps, your clinic needs to move beyond a “set-it-and-forget-it” mindset and into a posture of active inventory and visibility. Here’s how:

1. Get a Full Device Inventory

You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. A proper audit will list every device, including PCs, laptops, IoT, scanners, tablets, and even unmanaged devices connecting to Wi-Fi.

2. Use Centralized Endpoint Security

Relying on individual antivirus installs isn’t enough. You need a unified endpoint detection and response (EDR) platform that reports on device health, patch status, and coverage.

3. Monitor Device Status Continuously

Your IT provider should flag when a device drops off monitoring, goes out of date, or disables protection.

4. Enforce Policy on New Devices

New tools, whether it’s a thermal printer or a payment tablet, should go through basic vetting. Secure Wi-Fi access. EDR coverage. Update enforcement. Minimal risk.

5. Set a Policy for Personal Devices

Decide if and when staff can use personal phones, laptops, or tablets to access work systems. If it’s allowed, make sure protections are in place like MFA and secure VPNs.

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How We Help Clinics Close the Gaps

At Computer Solutions, we help veterinary practices across the United States find and fix their most common endpoint protection gaps. That includes:

• Full network device audits
• Cloud-managed EDR rollouts
• Automated alerts when devices drop offline
• Access control policies for new and existing equipment
• Support for mobile devices, scanners, PIMS-connected tools, and more

We tailor solutions to veterinary environments so nothing important falls through the cracks.

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You Don’t Need to Secure Everything, Just Everything That Matters

Your team can’t be everywhere at once. But your security can be.

If your clinic has devices you haven’t looked at in months (or can’t name off the top of your head), now’s the time to lock things down before someone else finds the opening.

Call 609.514.0100 or visit welinku.com to schedule an endpoint security review.
Because a small gap can cause a big disaster and no one wants to find that out the hard way.

Want to learn more about veterinary IT and cybersecurity? Check out last week’s blog here and subscribe, or follow along with our LinkedIn newsletter here!