EDR in Cyber Security tools continuously monitors threats-related data on network endpoints, then send that information back to a central system like a hardware device or cloud service to organize and gain insight.
Robust EDR solutions analyze events as part of an orderly sequence and apply security logic to detect suspicious activities that could result in data breaches, allowing for swift investigation and response times.
Detecting Threats
Security teams can only act on threats they detect, so any tool they rely on must provide the information and capabilities to quickly and accurately spot threats. This includes pinpointing their source – such as malicious files entering your network. In addition, being able to pinpoint all applications or data affected is critical.
EDR solutions analyze events from laptops, desktop PCs, mobile devices, servers, IoT, and cloud workloads to detect suspicious activity and provide an integrated view of the security state. Combining event detection and behavior telemetry allows security teams to quickly detect threats while mitigating potential cyberattacks against businesses.
EDR stands out from traditional signature-based tools by employing behavioral approaches to detect unknown threats and zero-day vulnerabilities. By monitoring attacks at multiple stages, EDR can catch stealthy attackers who bypass traditional protections and escalate their attacks without being detected by traditional protections. EDR also monitors indicators of compromise to track lateral movement within networks to contain attacks at one endpoint rather than spreading to more resources across them all.
Many EDR systems employ sandboxing as a test method, isolating files within a simulated environment to assess their nature and any associated behaviors without endangering other areas. Furthermore, many solutions come equipped with forensics tools for security teams to conduct more in-depth examinations on any affected systems, including how an attacker gained entry and their objectives.
Detecting Malware
As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated and covert, it is no longer a matter of if or when malware or ransomware will infiltrate a network; instead, it must be accurately detected upon entry and eliminated immediately before becoming widespread. Your team must therefore be able to quickly detect threats as soon as they enter so that effective remedial action can be taken against them and neutralized before becoming widespread.
EDR uses data to detect and track malicious files once they have infiltrated your environment. It uses comprehensive visibility across all endpoints with multiple Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) to automatically analyze billions of real-time events and detect suspicious activity traces. Robust EDR security tools understand single events as part of more extensive sequences, applying CrowdStrike Intelligence-powered security logic to flag suspicious activity as suspicious activity.
EDR tools recognize files as threats and take immediate steps to respond, such as alerting or logging off users. Furthermore, EDR tools track malicious files over their lifecycle to assess where their source lies and identify weaknesses in your system it might exploit.
EDR also captures and stores all information gathered during and after an attack, providing threat hunters with vital intelligence on future attacks, much like how an airplane’s black box records various factors that contributed to its crash and allows for easier prevention in future incidents.
Detecting Incidents
EDR solutions collect endpoint telemetry and send it to a central location – usually the cloud but sometimes physical – where it’s processed for analysis to detect suspicious activity by stealthy attackers, including their method of entry into your network. It then correlates and analyzes this data to detect patterns indicative of intrusion and automates responses that stop attacks in progress – for instance, isolating and wiping an infected endpoint before further malware spreads.
Threat hunting is another feature EDR security solutions provide, enabling a central team to proactively search for suspicious or malicious activity not identified by other solutions, such as when an adversary exploits multiple vulnerabilities simultaneously. Context is key, and an EDR solution should use threat intelligence such as Varonis DatAlert to add context to collected telemetry data.
As long as a cyberattack on a corporate network remains undetected, its damage and disruption become greater. An effective EDR solution helps organizations reduce dwell time by quickly detecting and responding to any attack to minimize its impact. This enables an organization to resume business operations quickly while decreasing risks related to data loss that would be costly to retrieve later.
Managing Incidents
EDR not only detects threats, but it can also assist you in eliminating them. Some solutions provide remote remediation capabilities, allowing users to establish secure connections to infected endpoints, dump memory, kill processes, and complete other security-related tasks remotely.
As businesses become increasingly digital, attackers have developed more advanced means to penetrate networks and steal data. Recognizing these attacks requires advanced detection and response technology.
EDR collects event logs and other data from networked endpoints to detect and respond to cyberattacks. It flags suspicious activity, alerting security teams and stakeholders. Furthermore, automated responses, such as temporarily isolating infected endpoints for prevention, can also be enabled by EDR.
Some EDR tools also analyze threat activity to detect known attacks and the type of threat involved, using characteristics like malware hashes or outdated software versions to make their determination. Furthermore, threat intelligence allows these tools to add context by comparing real-life cyberattack examples with network and endpoint activity patterns.
Continuous monitoring of endpoints helps limit an attacker’s dwell time in a network before being detected and mitigated. At the same time, EDR solutions, with their forensic capabilities, provide visibility into what has occurred on endpoints and devices post-attack, aiding in identifying root causes and mitigating future incidents.