Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a cybersecurity solution that continuously monitors security-related threat information and endpoint data to detect and respond to ransomware and other types of malware. It provides visibility into security incidents that occur on endpoints—such as mobile devices, desktops, laptops, embedded devices, and servers—to prevent damage and future attacks. This article discusses the importance of EDR solutions, how they work, and the types of threats they can detect.
Importance of Endpoint Detection & Response Solutions
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, nearly 294 million people were affected by 1,682 data breaches at US businesses in 2021. As cyber threats become more sophisticated and frequent, and telecommuting more common, these advanced attacks have become more difficult to identify in real time. Therefore, it is important for organizations to prioritize cyber security measures that can deflect, analyze and respond to the constant barrage of cyber attacks. EDR solutions can provide a number of features that improve an organization̵
7;s cybersecurity risk management, including:- Improved visibility—EDR solutions continuously collect data and analytics before aggregating them into a single, centralized system. These insights can give security teams full visibility into the health of a network’s endpoints from a single console.
- Quick investigations—Because EDR solutions automate data collection and processing, security teams can gain quick context regarding incidents and take action to quickly remediate them.
- Sanitation automation– Security teams can allow EDR solutions to automatically perform certain incident response activities based on predefined rules, enabling them to block or quickly remediate incidents.
- Contextualized threat hunting—The continuous data collection and analysis provided by EDR solutions can enable threat hunters to identify and investigate potential signs of an existing problem.
How do Endpoint Detection & Response Solutions work?
EDR solutions offer advanced threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities—including incident data mining and investigative triage, suspicious activity validation, threat hunting, and malicious activity detection and containment—by continuously analyzing events from endpoints to identify suspicious activity. These tools provide continuous and comprehensive visibility into what is happening in real time by recording activities and events taking place on endpoints and all workloads. By generating alerts, security teams can detect, investigate and remediate issues. The primary features of an EDR security system include:
- Monitoring of endpoints and collection of activity data
- Analyze data to identify threat patterns
- Using behavioral analysis to detect anomalies
- Remove or contain identified threats
- Notifies security personnel
- Investigates identified threats and searches for suspicious activity
Overall, EDR solutions can be used to shorten response times for incident response teams and eliminate threats before harm occurs.
What types of threats do Endpoint Detection & Response Solutions detect?
EDR is an integral part of an organization’s complete information security posture. It can detect the following threats to a network:
- Malicious software, including spyware, ransomware, viruses and bots
- Abuse of legitimate applications
- Stolen user data
- Suspicious user activity and behavior
- Fileless attacks during which malware is not installed and therefore more likely to be missed by antivirus tools
Conclusion
EDR solutions are useful in protecting both the enterprise and the user while adding value to a company’s integrated approach to cybersecurity. In addition, they are often required by insurance underwriters to obtain cyber insurance.
If you would like additional information and resources, we are here to help you analyze your needs and make the right coverage decisions to protect your business from unnecessary risk. You can download a free copy of our eBook, or if you’re ready make Cyber Liability Insurance part of your insurance portfolio, Request a quote or download and get started with our Cyber & Data Breach Insurance Application then we’ll get started for you.
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