Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Solutions

As part of my series of blogs that review the network security components, I will be reviewing the various EDR solutions on the market today. Of all the security components, there are as many vendor options as you could imagine. Logos, colors, brands, price points, and parts of platform ecosystems there are many ways to decide which is best for you and your organization. I took a look and quickly found over 20 EDR Solutions on the market

In 2013, Anton Chuvakin from Gartner originated the term “endpoint detection and response” for solutions and tools that focus on detecting and investigating suspicious activities on hosts and endpoints. Now the common term is Endpoint Detection and Response (or, EDR).

The main aspects of any EDR Solution are 1) Identifying suspicious behavior and advanced persistent threats on endpoints in a network environment, and 2) Alerting administrators. The tool collects data from endpoints and other sources. These solutions are primarily alerting tools, but most are part of a larger platform for most major vendors.

EDR vs. XDR

Extended Detection and Response Solutions (XDR) integrate security visibility within the network environment and infrastructure, including endpoints, cloud infrastructure, mobile devices, and everything in between.

I hate the term “single pane of glass.” Still, here it is certainly the term as this visibility combined with the ability to manage simplifies the overall security process and management. In short, XDR’s primary goal is security integration. By gathering and aggregating data across the organization, XDR has the context to identify trends and known threats. This aggregation decreases the workload on the human element, enabling security analysts to concentrate and focus on their efforts. Finally, XDR can automatically respond to identified threats, combining preventative measures to block content from reaching a system and working on an in-progress attack on an endpoint.

Hard to Choose

Is picking the right car for you difficult? It is! But, similar to going through the process of selecting the car you want to drive, some brands tend to be more favorable. There could be allegiances, but in the end, unlike cars, you have to make the best choice for your organization. But how?

One of the main use cases for using a SimSpace Cyber Range is to isolate a particular tool down to the firmware/software level and configuration. We can emulate any products, users, or applications and add levels of detail and fidelity that could not have been fathomed not so long ago. Now add recent tactics and threats, and you have a very realistic validation of the solution. That is much more than a test drive, let alone a bench test for speeds and feeds.