What Is Managed Detection and Response (MDR)? Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a type of outsourced cybersecurity service that offers threat detection and response features.
In an MDR system, cybersecurity specialists, analysts, and engineers monitor networks, investigate incidents, and respond to attacks.
This category of services addresses the problem of lack of specialized threat-hunting skills in companies’ IT departments. MDR services aim to enhance your company’s cybersecurity posture and ability to detect and respond to threats.
There are many MDR solutions available, and each differs in functionality and detection and response protocols. Still, there are common characteristics to all solutions. These include:
SOC stands for Security Operation Center. Large enterprises and corporate infrastructures tend to have a SOC separate from its regular IT departments. SOCs may use different tools and techniques for threat-monitoring, incident qualification, and response.
SOC teams work from a physical location. These teams consist of security analysts, security information and event management (SIEM) experts, and endpoint detection experts.
There are also managed SOC options, known as SOC-as-a-Service. In this case, you can receive all SOC functions as a service. This includes the technology stack and the cybersecurity team. Typically, SOC-as-a-Service offerings will include MDR detection and response services.
While MDR functions can be offered integrated with a SOC, they can also be offered separately, as part of the SOC technology stack. This ensures that companies can keep the MDR’s advanced threat-detection, response, and remediation capabilities. Since MDR doesn’t usually include SIEM capabilities, integrating an MDR to the SOC technology stack provides an added layer of protection.
The increasing volume of cybersecurity threats makes it challenging for security operations centers (SOCs) to keep up. The shortage of highly-skilled cybersecurity personnel has been an issue for the last few years. In fact, the cybersecurity workforce gap was more than 3 million in 2020.
Companies turn to managed cybersecurity services, such as managed detection and response (MDR) to overcome this challenge. Managed detection and response services give companies high-level analysis and threat-hunting capabilities without the need to form a security response team. By providing a proactive approach to threat detection, MDR solutions reduce dwell time on data breaches. Thus, threats are taken care of as soon as possible, before they turn into a severe breach.
The lack of enough cybersecurity talent to fight the ongoing threats is only one of the challenges that make MDR solutions important. Almost every security team has been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of alerts they receive from monitoring solutions. Many times, security analysts need to check each alert individually and correlate them with similar ones to detect a malicious pattern. This takes time and effort for cybersecurity teams and can lead to alert fatigue, which can allow threats to be overlooked.
MDRs address this challenge by providing a contextual analysis of all factors surrounding an alert. The MDR tools and team can then filter and rank the alerts coming from the monitoring software and provide an accurate analysis of the severity of the threat. In addition, they compile indicators of compromise, allowing the MDR system to detect unknown threats, better preparing the company for future attacks.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) software monitors endpoint devices (such as desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones) to detect indicators of compromise and malicious activity. EDR software uses behavioral analysis to detect abnormal activity in the monitored terminals. This allows the system to detect if there is an attack in process. Vendors offer these solutions as stand-alone packages or as managed solutions.
EDR systems work via a software agent installed at the endpoint. This agent collects and sends information to the central EDR database for analysis. When you buy a managed EDR solution, a cybersecurity team analyzes the data collected by the EDR agents, sifting through alerts and potentially stopping threats.
Managed detection and response (MDR) solutions go a step further, by not only detecting malicious activity but also eliminating and mitigating threats. Many MDR solutions will include EDR features in their offering. MDR, as a managed offer, also includes a team of analysts and cybersecurity experts that monitor, detect, and respond in a timely manner to threats. The human component makes it easier to eliminate false positives and therefore to identify real security threats.
Getting an alert of an attack in progress is not enough. MDR services offer a key response and remediation feature. That means once the monitoring tool detects an attack, it is stopped by automated response methods. The analysts then go through the remediation process, saving data and preventing further damage.
In choosing the right managed detection and response vendor, it is important to consider that not all offerings are the same. Here are some pointers to help you choose the right fit:
Managed detection and response services can provide value and help companies solve security challenges. By providing advanced threat detection and response at a fraction of the price of having their own teams, an MDR vendor can help improve your organization’s security posture
