What is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Management?

Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) involves using tools and processes to monitor, detect, investigate, and respond to endpoint security incidents. Endpoints are devices like desktops, laptops, servers, and mobile devices connected to a network.

Key aspects of managed EDR include:

• Monitoring
• Detection
• Investigation
• Response

Managed EDR is a key component of today's cybersecurity strategies because it provides visibility into endpoint activities, improves incident detection and response times, and boosts overall security.

The Difference Between EDR and Endpoint Management

While EDR is a specialized security solution focused on detecting and responding to endpoint threats, endpoint management is a broader IT discipline that encompasses endpoint devices' overall administration, maintenance, and compliance.

Both are crucial for maintaining a secure and efficient IT environment: EDR protects against and responds to security threats. At the same time, endpoint management ensures the proper functioning and compliance of all endpoint devices within the organization.

Comparing Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPPs) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPPs) are a comprehensive system of tools, services, and processes designed to protect endpoints against the full range of threats, including malware, ransomware, and Zero-Day threats. They are crucial components of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, each serving distinct roles and offering unique capabilities.

EPPs are primarily designed to prevent endpoint threats before they can cause any harm. They focus on blocking malware and other malicious activities at the endpoint level. The core capabilities of EPPs include:

• Antivirus and antimalware functionalities, which detect and remove known malware using signature-based detection
• Firewalls to control network traffic
• Device control to manage and restrict access to peripherals
• Application control to monitor and restrict applications running on endpoints
• Data encryption to protect sensitive information.

On the other hand, EDRs focus on detecting, investigating, and responding to advanced threats that may have bypassed initial defenses. EDRs offer deep visibility into endpoint activities and behaviors, making them essential for identifying sophisticated attacks. The core capabilities of EDRs include:

• Behavioral analysis to monitor endpoint behaviors and detect suspicious activities
• Threat hunting to allow security teams to proactively search for threats across the network
• Incident response tools for investigating and remediating security incidents.

EDRs also collect and store detailed telemetry data for analysis and offer automated remediation to respond to detected threats, such as isolating an infected endpoint.

In terms of detection methods, EPPs rely heavily on signature-based detection, which uses known malware signatures to identify threats. They also use heuristic analysis, applying predefined rules to identify potentially malicious behavior, and sandboxing, executing suspicious files in a controlled environment to observe their behavior.

EDRs, however, primarily use behavioral analysis to identify threats based on abnormal behavior patterns rather than known signatures. They also leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to detect and respond to threats, providing a more dynamic and adaptive security approach.

Do EPPs and EDRs Complement Each Other?

EPPs and EDRs complement each other well in a comprehensive security strategy. While EPPs serve as the first line of defense, blocking known threats and preventing many attacks, EDRs step in to detect and respond to threats that manage to evade these initial defenses.

This combination ensures a layered security approach, where EPPs handle prevention and EDRs focus on detection and response, providing a more holistic protection strategy against both known and unknown threats.

Overview of EDR systems

The Importance of EDR Today

The cybersecurity landscape is pretty alarming. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 states the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, up 15% over three years. Attackers don’t rely on old methods like file-based malware anymore. Instead, they use tactics like compromising system files, inserting attacks into a device's registry, or using utilities like PowerShell.

These sophisticated attacks mean new detection and response strategies are necessary. EDR tools have become essential because they excel at monitoring events generated by endpoint agents to look for suspicious activity. They help security teams identify, investigate, and remediate incidents, collecting data on suspicious activities and enriching it with contextual information, which shortens response times.

EDR Management Challenges

Managing EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) systems effectively involves several challenges that cybersecurity practitioners and CISOs of large enterprises often face. By understanding these challenges and implementing appropriate solutions, organizations can manage their EDR systems more effectively and enhance their overall cybersecurity posture.

Alert Overload

Security teams are overwhelmed by the sheer number of alerts generated by detection and prevention tools every day. These alerts come from various sources such as EPP, EDR solutions, SIEM platforms, NDR systems, and others.

• Solution: Implement advanced filtering and prioritization techniques, like "starring" or automated ranking, to reduce the noise and focus on the most critical alerts.

Implications of Alert Overload for Security Teams

In a traditional security operations center (SOC), these steps take time and multiple tools to complete. As a result, analysts only have time to address the “highest-priority” alerts they encounter daily.

Meanwhile, a disconcerting number of “lower-priority” alerts aren’t addressed. And without the proper context to classify an alert as “high” or “low,” the SOC may be missing what’s important and/or chasing issues that aren’t critical. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to set yourself up for success.

Strategies for Managing EDR to Overcome Alert Fatigue

IT security professionals with deep experience managing EDR applications often organize their endpoint protection efforts with a goal in mind. For instance, what would an ideal endpoint detection response process accomplish?

Ideally, actionable and relevant alerts should be delivered directly to those responsible for following up on them. Ask yourself a few questions, like:

• Who is handling these alerts?
• What accounts, services, or endpoints are they responsible for?
• What method do they want to use to receive these alerts?
• What security policies are their top priority?
• Are there any compliance standards the team is held to?
• Are specific teams only responsible for specific services?

Starring and Grouping Alerts

Today's more advanced EDR and XDR platforms, including Cortex XDR, enable security team members to automatically rank and group alerts manually by the user and by policy. In Cortex, this feature is called "starring," and it's a proven strategy for helping analysts filter and prioritize incoming alerts.

Starring policies reduce unnecessary alerts and eliminate redundancy as alerts are grouped into incidents for better correlation. This approach helps provide context around trends and reduce alert fatigue, allowing analysts to focus on other critical tasks. Security organizations with mature starring policies in place become far more adept at managing and much more effective at triaging potential threats.

Key Components of an Effective Triage Process

Prioritizing and analyzing a potential threat requires several steps that include log research, understanding the various indicators of compromise (IOCs) that can come into play, and knowing when to escalate or discard alerts. This process usually entails the following series of actions:

1. Reviewing available log data to start piecing together what may have occurred.
2. Manually comparing data against threat intelligence sources to determine if indicators are known to be malicious.
3. Looking for related events using IOCs to determine if the alert is part of a larger attack.
4. Gathering context around the incident, including the systems, hosts, assets, resources, IP addresses, and files associated with each alert.
5. Constructing a timeline and identifying the root cause of an alert.
6. Checking whether new information links to alerts are being handled by other team members to coordinate efforts.
7. Evaluating whether the alert needs to be escalated, discarded, or quickly remediated and closed out.

Integration Issues

EDR tools need to work seamlessly with other security solutions, such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) platforms.

• Solution: Choose EDR solutions that offer robust integration capabilities and work with vendors to ensure smooth interoperability with existing systems.

Skills Shortage

There is a significant skills gap in the cybersecurity field, making it challenging to find and retain qualified personnel to manage and optimize EDR solutions.

• Solution: Invest in ongoing training and development programs for your security team. Consider leveraging managed security service providers (MSSPs) to fill the gaps.

Event Correlation and Contextualization

Security analysts need to correlate events from various sources and gather contextual information to understand and respond to incidents effectively.

• Solution: Use EDR systems with built-in analytics and contextualization capabilities that enrich telemetry data with relevant information from other security tools.

False Positives

EDR systems can sometimes flag benign activities as threats, leading to unnecessary investigations and wasted resources.

• Solution: Continuously refine and update detection rules and machine learning models to improve accuracy and reduce false positives.

Scalability

As organizations grow, their EDR systems need to scale to manage an increasing number of endpoints without compromising performance or security.

• Solution: Opt for scalable EDR solutions that can handle a growing number of endpoints and support both on-premises and cloud deployments.

Incident Response Time

Delays in detecting and responding to threats can have severe consequences. Quick and efficient incident response is crucial.

• Solution: Implement automation for routine tasks and predefined response actions to speed up incident response times. Ensure your EDR system supports rapid data collection and analysis.

Compliance and Reporting

Organizations must comply with various regulations and standards, requiring detailed reporting and audit trails.

• Solution: Ensure your EDR solution provides comprehensive reporting features and helps maintain compliance with industry standards and regulations.

User Experience

Complex interfaces and difficult-to-navigate EDR systems can hinder efficiency and effectiveness.

• Solution: Choose user-friendly EDR solutions that offer intuitive interfaces and customizable dashboards to enhance the user experience.

Case Study of a Successful EDR Implementation

Multiterminais is among the largest marine terminal and dry port operators in Brazil and a leader in integrated logistics. Millions of tons of freight—some vessels carry up to 24,000 containers—need to be loaded and unloaded around the clock. An operation of this size must be protected by a resilient, flexible, and cost-effective cybersecurity platform.

The Challenges

• Multiterminais’ port and logistics services need to operate threat-free 24/7/365 to ensure the smooth flow of goods and services into and out of South America.
• The company's existing siloed endpoint security system drained performance and demanded regular intervention. A malware incident originating in one of the endpoints also resulted in a multiday system outage.

The Solution

• Palo Alto Networks® Next-Generation Firewalls
• Cortex XDR®
• Cloud-Delivered Security Services.

The Results

By using the Palo Alto Networks platform to secure data, people, and processes, Multiterminais is ensuring the continuous flow of container operations and trade across Brazil and worldwide.

The security operations center (SOC) now faces 80% fewer alerts, freeing the team to focus on strategic security issues. The mean time to detect (MTTD) has been reduced by 93% and the mean time to respond (MTTR) by 90%. The innovative Cortex XDR cybersecurity platform is transforming Multiterminais’ service reliability and agility with the following benefits:

• Uninterrupted shipping operations: By securing its data, people, and processes, Multiterminais ensures the continuous flow of container operations and trade across Brazil and worldwide.
• Reduced costs: 100% availability ensures 100% shipping operations, avoiding the cost of an outage (the team estimates that system downtime could cost the company “six figures per day”).
• Reduced volume of alerts: Using Cortex XDR, Multiterminais has reduced the volume of alerts by 80%. This frees the SOC team from repetitive manual security operations to strategic added-value tasks.
• Increased security agility: Using the unified Palo Alto Networks platform, Multiterminais reduced their MTTD from an average of 8 hours to 30 minutes (a 93% reduction). The MTTR dropped by 90%.
• Improved SOC productivity: The CIO explains, “Reducing the SOC workload in identifying and circumventing threats enables the team to work more on prevention. When an event is detected, more attention is given to resolving the event.”

Frequently Asked Questions About (EDR)