The cybersecurity battle seems to be heavily stacked in the attackers’ favor. Resource sprawl, commoditized attack techniques, and limited budgets make it difficult for defenders to keep up with bad actors.
That’s why many organizations turn to managed detection and response (MDR) solutions. With MDR, you get the power of a full-time security operations center (SOC) without having to staff one yourself. This boost in security coverage and expertise serves critical functions in defending against cyberattacks, but not all MDR solutions are created equal.
Ultimately, the best MDR solutions span the entire IT ecosystem, watching over everything from endpoints, networks, cloud applications, and more. Let’s dive into why having that breadth and depth from an MDR provider proves to be so important.
As established, outsourcing the role of a 24x7 SOC gives businesses the ability to expand their focus without compromising on security.
Some providers claim to provide MDR services but only offer managed endpoint detection and response (EDR). Although managed EDR plays an important part, it’s only one role in a full security program. Networks, infrastructure, applications, cloud services, and more are all potential attack vectors and need to be monitored just as vigilantly.
Other vendors offer more complete coverage but don’t span the full breadth and depth that the best MDR solutions offer. These MDR vendors doctor log information and limit the investigation insights shared with their clients. Although this feels like a more streamlined experience for the customer, organizations using this “black box” approach must still dig into information to accurately validate and report on findings. Internal IT teams, rather than the MDR provider, bear the responsibility of presenting the full investigation performed to auditors and stakeholders during disclosure.
Comprehensive MDR services, known as Managed eXtended Detection and Response (MXDR), offer full-stack network visibility and unrestricted information sharing with their clients. This approach sets them apart by providing a more transparent and thorough security solution.
MXDR incorporates data from every aspect of the IT landscape to gain a holistic understanding of what’s going on in an organization from a security perspective. Compiling it all into a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, MXDR has a full, top-down purview which allows them to act efficiently and effectively during security events. This visibility enables MXDR to act beyond host isolation, permitting response actions at the network level such as blocking specific ports and geolocations. It also allows for Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) actions at a wider scale for more streamlined operations across critical applications like Microsoft 365.
From the organization’s perspective, they also have unrestricted access to the same SIEM as MXDR. This gives key stakeholders immediate insight into both the activities of bad actors, but also how MXDR is working to prevent, detect, and respond to them. The result is a more collaborative approach to security operations, combining 24x7 security expertise with transparency across all systems and attack surfaces.
Like with all MDR solutions, MXDR gives organizations peace of mind that their backs are covered concerning security. But it goes so much further than that; not only does MXDR go farther and deeper than other options, but it also relies on forging a true partnership rather than a transactional relationship.
Outsourcing security depends on deep-rooted trust between both parties. By taking a holistic, transparent security approach, MXDR helps organizations to better understand security operations on a fundamental level. This results in teams advancing their security skills while making it easier to understand their gaps and vulnerabilities to better address them moving forward.
Want to hear how organizations like yours are benefitting from MXDR? Watch this video to learn how MXDR is changing the security game.
