How EDR and XDR Solutions Can Protect your Organization from Today’s Cyber Risks.

The proliferation of Information Technology infrastructure and data transfer however helpful has opened organizations and businesses up to cybersecurity risks which more often than naught leads to cyber attack or data breach. Given the almost unavoidable use of the Internet, technological infrastructure, programs, social media, and data transfer, organizations are becoming more susceptible to cyber threats.

A better understanding of cyberecurity risks and the various types that exist will help in making the decision for what protection solution is appropriate for your organization. Simply put, cyber security risks refer to an organization’s susceptibility to such losses as are related to financial, informational, reputational and clientele due to a cyber attack or data breach. Cyber threats vary from phishing to malware, insider threats, spoofing, etc. with over 2,200 cyber attacks every day implying nearly 1 cyberattack every 39 seconds and more than 800,000 attacks each year (Fox, 2023). Cyber risk, which is not unrelated to data breaches or a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, continues to increasingly impact organizations irrespective of sizes and sectors threatening organizations’ reputation, profitability as well as clientele base and partners’ confidence.

As new risks continue to emerge, it becomes more expedient for organizations to adopt best practices to navigate this dynamic landscape. A robust IT risk management plan is pivotal to the  sustained growth of any organization. RiskOptics (2022) states how a robust cybersecurity management plan helps businesses and organizations to identify what makes them vulnerable to cyber threats, the consequences and defense strategy against cyber risks. Drawing inference from the game of football, the significance of a robust cyber risk management plan to an organization’s growth is synonymous with how a strong back line is to any successful football team. Sorting out the backend of any organization’s cyber space is crucial to building a strong and sustainable business. Imagine your risk management plan as Ruben Dias’ defensive man-of-the match performance for Manchester City against Paris St-Germain which brought them to the Carabao Cup final for the fourth year running in 2021. Since your organization is prone to cyber attacks within every 39 seconds, you will agree with me that you need the best defense solution against threats.

Experts have proffered the EDR and XDR solutions to the increasingly sophisticated and complicated extant cyber threats. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) just like the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) are best quality cybersecurity solutions that have the potential of assuaging and defending your cyber space against security risks. It’s then good that we understand how these solutions work, how they differ and how they protect your business from cyber risks.

What is EDR?
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is the software that is installed on endpoint devices to secure them, detect threats and respond to identified threats quickly while equally adapting to emerging threats. Endpoints refer to such devices like laptops, desktops and mobile devices to servers, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, cloud applications, internet-of-things (IoT), network, virtual and even remote systems that connect to a computer network. Often regarded as an upgrade of the traditional responsive EPP (Endpoint Protection Platform), the EDR is a cybersecurity solution that detects and prevents known cyber attacks. Here is how it works, when it detects a suspicious activity, it transfers a query to an subsisting malware database to identify known risks. It goes on to launch a defense to prevent the attack if there is a confirmation of the virus classification.

Endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions provide sophisticated multi-layer endpoint protection for corporate endpoints. It capitalizes on up-to-date analytics to provide real-time visibility into the health of all endpoints. EDR combines real-time uninterrupted surveillance with data analytics to detect threats and subsequently enables a proactive automated response to mitigate identified threats.

Hayes (2023) highlights the functions of Endpoint Detection and Response solutions to include the following:

• Endpoint monitoring and event recording
• Data search, investigation and threat hunting
• Alert triage or suspicious activity validation
• Suspicious activity detection
• Data analysis
• Actionable intelligence to support response
• Remediation

What is XDR?

The Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solution, in a more exhaustive approach, improves risk detection across an infrastructure, initiates security operations and reduces risks by collecting and comparing data from across the system. Its main focus is security integration. XDR coordinates and extends the value of siloed security tools, unifying and streamlining security analysis, investigation and remediation into one consolidated console. As a result, XDR dramatically improves threat visibility, accelerates security operations, reduces total cost of ownership (TCO) and eases the ever-present security staffing burden (Xcitium, 2024).

In simple terms, Hayes (2023) describes the XDR functions as follows:

• Diverse, multi-domain security telemetry
• Threat-focused event analysis
• Threat detection and prioritization of data fidelity
• Data search, investigation and threat hunting across multi-domain telemetry
• Response to mitigate and remediate the threat

How do these solutions then protect your organization from cyber risks? First, bearing in mind the alarming spike in cybercrime rates; it’s been estimated that the cost of multinational cybercrime will increase by 15 percent hitting $10.5 trillion by 2025 (RiskOptics, 2022), it becomes extremely important for every business to defend its cyberspace.

Now, despite their differences and subtle similarities, the EDR and XDR solutions will protect your organization’s cyberspace based on specific security needs and requirements as well as the level of a business’ risk profile. While the EDR focuses on endpoint cyber protection and accrues a modest budget, it is also appropriate for organizations that are at the budding stage of designing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. On the other hand, XDR is a better fit for organizations that run in a complex end dynamic operational setting and require a more exhaustive approach to identifying and responding to threats. It is not a question of which of these solutions is better, EDR and XDR are both created for automated threat detection and response through profound data visibility and the use of data analytics and threat intelligence. You can deploy both to enjoy premium protection across all endpoints and systems.

For more details and the installation of the choice cybersecurity solution, Telliswall is here for you. We are committed to driving your business growth and productivity with our assisted IT management, security and maintenance services.

References

Fox, J. (2023) Top Cybersecurity Statistics for 2024 https://www.cobalt.io/blog/cybersecurity-statistics2024#:~:text=How%20many%20cyberattacks%20per%20day,1%20cyberattack%20every%2039%20seconds.

Hayes, N. (2023). EDR VS MDR VS XDR https://www.crowdstrike.com/cybersecurity-101/endpoint-security/edr-vs-mdr-vs-xdr/

RiskOptics (2022). The Most Common Corporate Cybersecurity Risks https://reciprocity.com/resources/the-most-common-corporate-cybersecurity-risks/

Xcitium (2024). EDR Vs. XDR: Understanding the Difference and Choosing the Right Security Solution   https://www.xcitium.com/edr-vs-xdr/#top