Understanding XDR in Cybersecurity: What It Is and How It Differs from MDR
To help businesses better understand XDR and MDR, we break down some of the key differences below and outline how to know which is the best cybersecurity option for your organisation.
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Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, often targeting multiple facets of an organisation's infrastructure. To combat these complex threats, cybersecurity strategies have evolved, introducing advanced solutions like Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Extended Detection and Response (XDR). Understanding these concepts is crucial for organisations aiming to stengthen their security posture. To help businesses better understand MDR and XDR, we outline some of the key features below.
Managed Detection and Response is a cybersecurity service that provides organisations with 24/7 monitoring, detection, and response capabilities. MDR services are typically offered by third-party vendors like Storm, who use a combination of people, processes, and technology to detect and respond to threats. These services go beyond traditional managed security services by providing more advanced threat detection and response capabilities, often including the deployment of tools like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), or Microsoft Sentinel for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) capabilities.
MDR is particularly beneficial for organisations that lack the internal resources or expertise to manage security operations effectively. By outsourcing threat hunting and incident response functions to cybersecurity experts, businesses can augment their security capabilities and address advanced, targeted cyberattacks that they may not be equipped to handle alone.
Extended Detection and Response (XDR), on the other hand, is a cybersecurity solution that provides holistic protection against cyberattacks by offering a comprehensive view of security events across an organisation's entire IT environment, including endpoints, networks, and cloud infrastructure.
Unlike traditional security tools that operate in silos, XDR integrates data from multiple security solutions, enabling them to work together to enhance threat visibility and reduce the time required to detect and respond to attacks. This integration allows for easier and faster investigation, threat hunting, and response, enabling security teams to efficiently eliminate threats across multiple domains from a unified platform.
How Does XDR Work?
XDR solutions collect and analyze data from various sources, such as endpoints, network traffic, and cloud services, using advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms. This real-time analysis helps identify complex, multi-stage security threats and incidents that might go unnoticed by isolated security tools. By correlating data across different security layers, XDR provides security teams with a broader context of security events, empowering them to make informed decisions and take preemptive measures to mitigate threats effectively.
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MDR Vs XDR
While both XDR and MDR aim to enhance a company’s threat detection and response capabilities, they differ fundamentally in their approach and implementation.
| Managed Detection and Response (MDR) | Extended Detection and Response (XDR) | |
|---|---|---|
| Solution | Service-based – Outsourcing a managed security service provider that provides threat detection, response, and analysis. | Product-based – A technology solution that integrates multiple security products to help security teams detect, respond to, and investigate security incidents. |
| Incident Response | Provides human-led investigation where teams delve into alerts, curtail threats and implement remediation protocols. | XDR correlates data across various security layers and provides a holistic view of cyber threats, equipping security teams with comprehensive context to make informed decisions and take preemptive measures. |
| Customisation | Less customisable than XDR as the approach depends on the service provider. | Highly customisable as security teams can choose to integrate and tailor multiple tools. |
| Primary Benefit | Expert-driven threat detection and response with minimal effort from internal IT teams. | Unified and automated threat visibility and response across multiple domains. |
Choosing Between XDR and MDR
Whether your business should opt for MDR or XDR may depend on the organisation's specific needs, resources, and security landscape.
XDR is ideal for organisations with a skilled in-house cybersecurity team capable of leveraging advanced analytics and automated threat responses. Businesses that use multiple security solutions and need a unified platform to consolidate and correlate data from all tools and provide visibility across complex, hybrid IT environments could benefit from XDR.
In contrast, MDR is best suited for organisations that lack the internal resources or expertise to continuously monitor, detect, and respond to security threats. MDR services offer 24/7 surveillance and are a cost-effective solution for businesses lacking the capacity and budget to manage cybersecurity effectively, allowing them to focus on core operations while outsourcing complex security processes.
If you would like to learn more about MDR and XDR, get in touch with one of our cyber specialists today.
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