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Desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices are often the first port of call for hackers looking to launch a cyber-attack. Collectively known as endpoints, hackers treat them as a convenient gateway into your systems.
However, there are ways to defend your business. And the most effective is with dedicated endpoint detection and response (EDR).
What is endpoint detection and response?
Coined by Gartner’s Anton Chuvakin in 2013, endpoint detection and response is a branch of cybersecurity technology that encompasses automated threat monitoring tools.
Where traditional antivirus software is reactive, EDR is proactive. Once installed, it continuously monitors your devices, collecting and analysing data in real time to detect cybersecurity threats. If it does, it responds automatically – repelling or containing the threat before it can spread.
Want to know more about protecting your business on a budget? Check out our guide.
How does it work?
Most endpoint detection and response solutions follow the same basic approach, even if their capabilities differ.
Step 1. Data collection
Working quietly in the background, the software collects data from each device on your network. This includes:
- Authentication requests
- Network connections
- Configuration changes
- Device performance
Then, it consolidates everything into a central database for easy access.
Step 2. Analysis and detection
Next, the software analyses the data and compares the results against global threat intelligence to identify threat indicators. These typically fall into one of two categories:
- Indicators of compromise (IOC): signs that a threat has breached a system or endpoint.
- Indicators of attack (IOA): pattern or behaviours that signal a cyber-attack is about to happen or in progress.
Security team members can access this information directly from the software, allowing them to monitor threats across your business in real time.
Step 3. Response
Should the EDR software flag a potential threat, it automatically contains it.
The nature of the response depends on the nature of the threat and your software’s capabilities. Typical responses include:
- Notifying security personnel
- Suspending the affected device(s) processes
- Disconnecting the affected device(s) from your network
- Triggering an antivirus scan
Step 4. Investigation and remediation
With the threat contained, security teams are free to investigate it. Some EDR software generates comprehensive reports that allow you to track incidents back to their source. This helps you pinpoint the root cause, track it's trajectory through your systems, and organise your response.
For example:
- Patching the vulnerability
- Updating detection rules
- Deleting malicious files
- Repairing or restoring damaged components
Step 5. Prevention and threat hunting
EDR software keeps detailed records of every incident. Security analysts can access this data at any time, learning from past incidents to prevent future ones. It also helps them:
- Identify vulnerabilities
- Track how specific threats develop over time
- Support threat hunting exercises
Benefits of endpoint detection and response
Identify blind spots
At the highest level, endpoint detection and response is all about visibility. It lets you monitor every device in real time, highlighting misconfigurations and unsecured connections cybercriminals can exploit. With this information, you can plug gaps in your defences and put in place measures to prevent similar cases in future.
Spot emerging threats
Antivirus software is great at detecting known threats. It does this by comparing the threat’s unique signature against global threat intelligence databases.
However, this approach makes it less effective at combating emerging or evolving threats such as social engineering attacks, like phishing.
By contrast, EDR identifies threats by looking for signs of suspicious activity and behaviour. This means it can detect new and established threats.
Block sophisticated attacks
Dynamic endpoint security and detection software combats advanced threats, outing it ahead of basic antivirus tools. This includes sophisticated malware variants that can go unnoticed for months, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, or adapt their behaviour to avoid detection.
Minimise or prevent damage
As an automated solution, EDR reduces the delay between threat detection and mitigation. Once it identifies a potential threat, the software immediately takes steps to contain and neutralise it. This prevents attacks from escalating, minimising the damage to your business and saving you from a costly clean-up operation.
Your first line of defence
Even the most advanced antivirus software can’t catch every threat. New tactics and attack vectors emerge every day, some of which will make it past your security perimeter.
Endpoint detection and response software works in tandem with your existing security tools. It forms a vital layer in your defence network, spotting the sophisticated threats traditional antivirus can’t see to keep your network, systems, and data safe.
