Endpoint Detection and Response

Q: Is XDR better than EDR?

Although Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is an effective defense against cyberattacks, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) expands on EDR with additional protections at the network, servers, cloud and application levels. Both EDR and XDR involve continuous monitoring, threat detection and automated response to cyberthreats, but EDR’s scope is generally limited to endpoints—XDR is more comprehensive.

What Is Endpoint Detection and Response?

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a cybersecurity solution that involves continuous monitoring and gathering of data from endpoints to discover and address cyberthreats in real time. Also known as Endpoint Threat Detection and Response (ETDR), EDR extends on the capabilities of an Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) by proactively identifying cyberthreats and preventing widespread security incidents.

How EDR Works

According to Gartner, an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution “stores endpoint-system-level behaviors, uses various data analytics techniques to detect suspicious system behavior, provides contextual information, blocks malicious activity and provides remediation suggestions to restore affected systems.”

An EDR solution must provide these four primary capabilities:

1. Detect Security Incidents

Cyberthreat detection is a fundamental function of an EDR solution. An EDR solution must continuously analyze all files entering a network environment and accurately detect threats so they can be contained and removed. Because modern cyberthreats are both stealthy and ever-evolving into new variants, an EDR solution should flag entering files at the first sign of malicious behavior—preferably sooner. An AI-powered cybersecurity solution leverages big data, machine learning (ML) and advanced file analysis to detect threats before they can attack, preventing infiltration rather than remediating after an incident.

2. Contain the Incident at the Endpoint

Upon detecting a malicious file, an EDR solution contains the cyberthreat. This containment limits the network’s exposure to the malware, minimizing the impact of an attack on processes, applications and users.

3. Investigate Security Incidents

Once it has detected and contained a malicious file, an EDR solution investigates the cyberattack to develop insights into why the threat breached the network, whether due to network or endpoint vulnerabilities, a new kind of advanced threat or something else. Testing to determine the nature of the malicious file should be limited to an isolated environment to avoid additional network exposure. The results of this investigation can help prevent a similar attack in the future.

4. Provide Remediation Guidance

For an EDR solution, responding to a detected threat involves eliminating the malicious file and remediating any parts of the network that were—and may have been—affected. An EDR solution also provides visibility into the history of the malicious file, including its origins, point of entry, the network files and applications it interacted with and whether it replicated. This information, can then be used to automatically remediate the network, restoring it to its pre-infection state.

EDR Features

To effectively detect, contain, analyze and remediate from a cyberattack, an EDR solution should include various tools:

Endpoint data collection agents that monitor and collect data regarding file transfers, processes, activity and connections into a central repository for analysis.

Automated responses integrated within the network’s systems to act based on preconfigured rules, such as to log off a user and alert the security team when there is a known type of breach.

Analysis and forensics, with both real-time analytics to triage potentially malicious events and forensics tools for threat hunting and a post-mortem following an attack.

According to Gartner, an effective EDR solution should also have these advanced features:

A combination of modern prevention techniques with detection and response capabilities
A single lightweight agent
A cloud-hosted infrastructure
Unification of many tools in one console with additional integration options

AI and ML are increasingly important features of effective EDR because many cyberthreats evolve more quickly and strike before an signature-based EDR solutions can update to identify and contain them. AI-driven EDR can find cyberthreats that humans alone cannot.

Benefits of EDR

EDR solutions prevent and protect networks from cyberthreats. And as more enterprises provide employees with flexible working arrangements, including remote work and hybrid home-office, effective EDR is critical to safeguard against cyberattacks targeting users’ devices.

Improved Visibility

EDR solutions continuously collect data and perform analytics, aggregated into a unified view. Security teams can then easily access and understand the status of all their network’s endpoints.

Faster Remediation

EDR solutions can respond automatically to incidents based upon pre-set rules, including blocking compromised user accounts. They can also initiate and carry out remediation activities, reducing the workload of security teams. When security personnel receive alerts, they’re provided with pertinent information plus context so they can respond quickly and effectively.

Optimized Threat Hunting

An EDR solution’s automated response capabilities help free up security teams for higher-level work—like threat hunting. And teams can more effectively identify and investigate cyberthreats with access to relevant, contextualized data and analysis from an EDR solution.

EDR vs. EPP

Both EDR and EPP solutions help protect enterprise networks from security incidents originating at endpoints but in different, complementary ways. EPP solutions focus on preventing threats at the network’s perimeter; EDR solutions detect and identify advanced cyber threats that aren’t filtered by an EPP solution, providing security teams the information and tools for enhanced threat hunting.

EDR vs. XDR

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) expands on EDR with additional protections at the network, server, cloud and application levels. Both EDR and XDR involve continuous monitoring, threat detection and automated response to cyberthreats, but EDR’s scope is generally limited to endpoints while XDR is more comprehensive. XDR can more effectively ward off cyberthreats against an organization’s network, cloud workspaces and endpoints than a traditional EDR solution by unifying detection and analysis of cyberthreats.

FAQ

What is EDR?

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a cybersecurity solution that involves continuous monitoring of and gathering data from endpoints to discover and address cyberthreats in real time. EDR extends on the capabilities of an Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) by proactively identifying cyberthreats and preventing widespread security incidents.

What is an EDR system?

An EDR system or solution is an on-premises, cloud-based or hybrid software platform that monitors network endpoints for security incidents and can identify and respond to cyberattacks as well as provide contextual information to security teams for advanced threat hunting.

Is XDR better than EDR?

Although EDR is an effective defense against cyberattacks, XDR expands on EDR with additional protections at the network, servers, cloud and application levels. Both EDR and XDR involve continuous monitoring, threat detection and automated response to cyberthreats, but EDR’s scope is generally limited to endpoints while XDR is more comprehensive.

CylanceOPTICS for EDR

The global shift to remote work arrangements has increased cybersecurity risks beyond experts’ initial estimates. To address the growing number and severity of cyberthreats, CISOs and security analysts must look beyond traditional EDR solutions and start thinking in terms of XDR. Although securing endpoints is critical for protecting the corporate environment, today’s expanded workplace demands holistic solutions that include network telemetry, behavioral analysis and continuous authentication.

Cloud-native CylanceOPTICS^® provides on-device threat detection and remediation across your organization—in milliseconds.

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