Threats are evolving, but has your security stood still?

Traditional anti-virus products have done a great job of protecting businesses in the past; however, as threats evolve, these products can no longer offer the required levels of protection.

Anti-virus products usually rely on signatures to detect threats, and these signatures are updated regularly. However, the new breed of threats doesn't use signatures and can, therefore, slip through undetected. It could take days, or even weeks before you realise it.

This is why companies with up-to-date AVs continue to experience problems with cyber attacks, as seen in the recent NHS cyber attack or 2017's WannaCry saga.

Endpoint Detection and Response

This is where Endpoint Detection and Response (or EDR as commonly known) comes in, taking your organisation's data security to the next level.

Anton Chuvakin first used the term in his work for Gartner in July 2013, explaining it as "the tools primarily focused on detecting and investigating suspicious activities (and traces of such) other problems on hosts/endpoints."

As mentioned earlier, typical AV is a reactive concept, whereas EDR is proactive and predictive. It works to identify advanced threats and never-before-seen malware, all of which are designed to slip past traditional defences.

Deploying EDR also provides you much more of a bird's eye view into what's taking place within your network at any given time, with McAfee outlining the following as primary functions of an EDR security system:

• Monitor and collect activity data from endpoints that could indicate a threat

• Analyse this data to identify threat patterns

• Automatically respond to identified threats to remove or contain them and notify security personnel

• Forensics and analysis tools to research identified threats and search for suspicious activities

Do you need EDR?

Due to the pandemic, many of us had to work from home - and continue to do so years after - accessing company files and data from personal devices. With the rise of sophisticated targeted attacks, every device used by employees in your organisation offers cyber criminals another potential route into your network, putting you at risk.

As EDR monitors those points of entry into your network, it can offer you greater peace of mind and the following benefits, outlined in this document from Sophos.

In their words, "Even the most advanced tools can be defeated given enough time and resources, making it difficult to truly understand when attacks are happening. Organisations often rely solely on prevention to stay protected, and while prevention is critical, EDR offers another layer of detection capabilities to potentially find incidents that have gone unnoticed."

The Benefits of EDR

EDR systems can offer numerous benefits to businesses, enhancing their cybersecurity posture and improving operational efficiency.

Here are some key advantages that can be a plus to your business:

1. Enhanced Threat Detection and Response: Continuously monitors endpoints for suspicious activity, allowing for immediate detection of potential threats. Machine learning and behavioural analysis can help identify sophisticated threats that traditional anti-virus solutions might miss.

2. Rapid Incident Response: EDR can help automatically isolate infected devices, stopping the spread of malware and limiting damage. It provides detailed logs and reports that help understand the attack vector, scope, and impact, facilitating faster remediation.

3. Proactive Threat Hunting: Use threat intelligence feeds to stay updated on the latest threats and vulnerabilities and proactively identify potential threats before they manifest into serious issues.

4. Improved Efficiency and Cost Savings By detecting and responding to threats quickly, EDR minimises downtime and disruption to business operations, prevents costly data breaches, and reduces the need for extensive manual intervention by IT staff.

5. Compliance and Reporting: EDR can help businesses comply with data protection regulations by providing the logs and reports required for audits. Comprehensive reporting offers detailed insights and analytics on security posture and incidents, aiding in continuous improvement.

6. Scalability and Flexibility: EDR solutions can be scaled according to the business's size and needs, making them suitable for both small and large enterprises whilst integrating seamlessly with cloud environments.

7. User Behavior Monitoring: Helps monitor user activities to detect and prevent insider threats, ensuring comprehensive security beyond external threats and enforcing security policies across all endpoints.

Implementing an EDR solution can significantly bolster a business's cybersecurity defences, enabling quicker detection, investigation, and response to various threats. This proactive approach not only enhances security but also contributes to operational efficiency and compliance.

The Last Word

Threats are changing and becoming more complex, which means your security system can no longer afford to stand still. The days of buying an off-the-shelf anti-virus programme and installing it on your computer are now a distant memory, with proactive EDR systems offering much greater security.

The endpoint security market is worth an estimated £10bn globally and will reach over £17bn by 2028. At Fifosys, we have an EDR solution that is fully managed and integrated into our Remote Monitoring and Management platform (N-able). This gives us a constant overview of your machines' health.

The system is also integrated with our ticketing system, automatically logging tickets if an event needs further investigation. If you want to learn more, please contact us today, and we'll explain how we can better help you.