What is MDR Security (2024)

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a critical layer in a proactive, adaptive security strategy. By combining advanced technology with expert human analysis, MDR rapidly identifies and neutralizes threats, reducing detection times from an industry average of 277 days to mere minutes. MDR security services offer a proactive defense against advanced cyber threats, ensuring businesses create and maintain a resilient security posture.

This guide is designed to help you understand MDR security, from its evolution within the security industry to its role as an essential element of modern security frameworks. You will learn:

• The critical components of MDR security services
• Factors that distinguish MDR from other security solutions
• How to evaluate the right MDR security partner to fit your needs
• Factors that influence a successful MDR security partnership

The Evolution of MDR Security

The evolution of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) security marks a significant shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity. Initially influenced by Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) in the early 2000s, MDR has adapted to meet the challenges of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. Key developments driving this transformation include:

• Introduction of Advanced Technologies: Integrating threat intelligence platforms, machine learning algorithms, and behavioral analytics has enhanced the capability of MDR to detect and analyze threats with unprecedented accuracy.
• Shift to Proactive Threat Hunting: Real-time monitoring and continuous threat hunting practices have set new standards, enabling organizations to respond to threats more swiftly and effectively than ever before.
• From MSSPs to MDR: While MSSPs laid the groundwork, MDR services have evolved to offer specialized detection and response capabilities. This includes leveraging endpoint detection and response (EDR), network detection and response (NDR), and cloud security to provide comprehensive protection.

The journey from traditional security measures to contemporary MDR security services reflects the industry's response to a dynamic threat landscape. By focusing on advanced detection technologies and proactive strategies, MDR security has become indispensable in modern cybersecurity defenses.

Critical Components of MDR Security Services

MDR security services are designed to offer comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, catering to various IT environments and threat types. The key components of MDR security services include:

• 24/7 SOC-as-a-Service: This encompasses Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Security Operations Center (SOC), Threat Hunting, Incident Response (IR), Managed Endpoint Protection, and Vulnerability Management, ensuring continuous surveillance and rapid threat response.
• Open XDR Platform: Integrating with , User & Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), Threat Intelligence, Application Control, and Data Source Integrations, this platform offers a unified approach to threat detection and response.
• Automated Response: Automated blocking capabilities to prevent cybercriminals from gaining a foothold and structured roles for the organization to follow within these actions that ensures swift threat mitigation.
• Proactive, Hypothesis-driven Threat Hunting: High levels of security expertise combined with relevant threat intelligence to proactively identify and neutralize threats before they escalate.
• Remote Response Services and 24/7 Operations: MDR provides continuous operations with a follow-the-sun shifting model, ensuring global coverage. This includes threat containment and system and network recovery assistance, facilitating a swift return to normal operations.
• Comprehensive Threat Monitoring and Detection: Employing 24/7 threat monitoring, MDR security services assist enterprises with incident response needs, leveraging threat intelligence and advanced analytics with human expertise for incident investigation and response.

These components underscore MDR security services’ multi-faceted approach, combining advanced technology, expert human analysis, and proactive strategies to deliver robust protection against cyber threats, stopping business disruption before it happens.

MDR Security vs. Traditional Cybersecurity Solutions

MDR security diverges significantly from traditional cybersecurity solutions by offering a more holistic approach to threat detection and response. Traditional cybersecurity tools, including SIEM, EDR, and MSSP services, each have unique strengths and limitations that MDR overcomes.

MDR vs. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) collects and analyzes log data to correlate security events occurring across the organization. While powerful, it's predominantly reactive and can generate false positives and negatives. On the other hand, MDR takes a proactive approach to cybersecurity, combining threat detection and investigation with automated and manual response capabilities.

MDR vs. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

An endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool helps monitor threats in real-time, analyzes suspicious activity, and disrupts threats at the endpoint level, focusing on devices such as laptops, desktops, and servers. Although effective for its purpose, it offers limited visibility across the entire network.

However, MDR security has a much broader scope. Like EDR, it provides real-time threat disruption and containment and provides coverage but it does so across your entire attack surface. In doing so, you maintain complete visibility across your endpoint, log, cloud, network, and identity sources. This makes MDR security a more holistic solution compared to EDR.

MDR vs. Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP)

Many organizations believe that MSSP and MDR security solutions can be used interchangeably, but there are some stark differences between MSSP vs. MDR. If your organization has broad security needs and doesn't need extensive security expertise, but need guidance on using and managing your existing cybersecurity tools sufficiently, an MSSP may be a good option.

However, if your organization has constrained resources but still needs 24/7 threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities, true multi-signal visibility, 24/7 SOC-as-a-Service, and proactive, hypothesis-driven threat hunting capabilities, then MDR is the most cost-effective option.

In contrast, MDR security services integrate the capabilities of these traditional tools with advanced technologies and human expertise. This combination provides a more nuanced and comprehensive view of an organization's security posture, offering several advantages:

• Proactive Approach: MDR's use of modern tools like EDR and advanced analytics allows for proactive threat detection, significantly reducing threat response times.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Unlike EDR, which is limited to disrupting and eliminating threats at the endpoint level, true multi-signal MDR covers the entire environment, offering protection at the network, log, cloud, and the identity levels.
• Human Expertise: MDR security services include a team of security analysts who monitor the environment for potential threats and provide incident response services as well as advanced threat intelligence to ensure quick containment and remediation of threats.

Organizations looking for an MDR security solution should consider their needs, including in-house vs. outsourced preferences, budget, response time requirements, and long-term strategic goals, to determine the most suitable model among the various MDR security solutions available.

How to Evaluate MDR Security Companies

When evaluating MDR security providers, it is critical to take a comprehensive approach to ensure the chosen provider meets your security needs. Key considerations should include:

Proof of Concept and Detection Techniques

• Request a Proof of Concept (POC) to assess the provider's behavioral-based detection capabilities.
• Evaluate the provider's ability to deliver contextual alerts with comprehensive details (e.g., involved assets, resolution steps, and detection methods).

Capabilities and Expertise

• Assess containment capabilities crucial for disrupting threat actors.
• Consider the provider's history in Endpoint Detection and response (EDR) and their Security Operations Center and expertise.
• Investigate Incident Monitoring & Response capabilities and pricing model flexibility.

Technology, Compliance, and Communication

• Ensure the inclusion of deception technology and capabilities.
• Verify native cloud security monitoring for IaaS and SaaS environments.
• Confirm the provider's process for reviewing and validating security alarms to minimize false positives.
• Understand the communication protocols between the provider's incident response team and your security team.

Choosing the right MDR security provider is pivotal for safeguarding your business against cyber threats. Use the key considerations above to select a trusted MDR partner that offers a robust, tailored MDR solution that will help you proactively prevent, withstand, and recover from cyber threats.

Choosing the Right MDR Security Provider

Choosing the right MDR security provider is critical for businesses aiming to improve their cybersecurity resilience. When evaluating potential providers, there are various factors to consider to ensure your organization’s needs are met. Here are three areas to consider as you select an MDR provider:

Service Customization and Integration

• Adaptability: Ensure your MDR provider can tailor their services to your unique requirements.
• Compatibility: They should seamlessly integrate with your existing security stack, enhancing rather than replacing the tools you already trust.
• Data Configuration: The right provider will help configure your logs for optimal data capture and detail.

Expertise and Response Efficiency

• Team Experience: Look for a provider with an expert team that utilizes the latest security tools and practices.
• Incident Response: Their capabilities should include detection and immediate and effective incident response activities.
• Communication: The MDR provider should maintain open lines of communication, offering transparency in their operations and findings.

Proven Track Record and Industry Recognition

• Customer History: Consider a Proven provider, like eSentire, with extensive experience and success in preventing business-disrupting breaches across a variety of industries.
• Industry Specialization: An MDR provider should have expertise in your specific industry and understand the unique challenges and regulatory requirements you face.
• Awards and Certifications: Look for accolades and certifications that affirm the provider's standing and competence in the cybersecurity industry.

Through careful evaluation, organizations can partner with an MDR security provider that meets and even exceeds their cybersecurity needs, ensuring protection against today’s most advanced cyber threats.

Stop Threats Before They Disrupt Your Business Operations With eSentire's Multi-Signal MDR Security Solution

Evaluating and selecting the right MDR security provider tailored to your organization's needs requires careful consideration of their capabilities, expertise, and adaptability.

With 24/7 threat detection and response and a 15-minute mean time to contain, eSentire’s MDR security solution combines cutting-edge open XDR technology, multi‑signal threat intelligence, and the industry’s only 24/7 Elite Threat Hunters to help you build a more resilient security operation.

We provide complete visibility and coverage of your cyberattack surface. Our all-in-one MDR security ingests high-fidelity data sources from endpoint, network, log, cloud, identity, assets, and vulnerability data to enable complete attack surface visibility.