Managed detection and response explainer: what is MDR and what does it do?

Protecting your organisation with managed detection and response

At Advania, our Managed Detection and Response service, or MDR, provides organisations with access to the latest skills and resourcing to protect them against advanced and emerging threats.

Services like MDR are perfect for organisations that can’t maintain their own security operations centre (SOC) – you can still keep your organisation secure with around-the-clock monitoring and high-level expertise if you don’t have the resources to establish this for yourself.

The service combines advanced threat detection technology with human expertise to provide 24/7 monitoring, analysis and response. It takes the weight off your shoulders – you can rest assured that you’re covered, while your own IT teams are free to focus on your organisation’s biggest priorities.

What does managed detection and response mean?

Managed detection and response focuses on proactively detecting and rapidly responding to advanced threats – going beyond malware threats, protecting your organisation from threats like ransomware, insider threats,  data exfiltration and unauthorised access.

MDR can use endpoint detection and response (EDR) to monitor and respond to threats on endpoints in your organisation’s network. It offers an added protection as unlike the basics of antimalware, which focuses on threats that have already infiltrated your network, MDR also detects and responds to unknown and evolving threats that haven’t yet compromised your organisation.

There are several key components to MDR: 

• 24/7 monitoring: continuous surveillance of your network and endpoints to detect potential threats
• Threat detection: utilising advanced technologies like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to identify both known and unknown threats
• Threat analysis: expert analysis of detected threats to determine their severity and potential impact
• Incident response: rapid response to mitigate and neutralise threats before they can cause significant damage
• Reporting and visibility: providing detailed reports and insights into the security posture of your organisation

What are the benefits of MDR?

The main benefit of MDR for your organisation is enhanced protection with advanced threat detection and response capabilities that go beyond traditional security measures.

With a managed service, you will also have access to a team of security experts who can analyse and respond to threats effectively.

You will be able to reduce the need for in-house security teams and infrastructure, making it a cost-effective solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The MDR service can be scaled to meet the needs of organisations of all sizes. Not to mention, your internal IT teams have the peace of mind to focus on core business activities while security experts handle threat management.

What is MDR used for?

MDR is a useful tool for organisations looking to answer key challenges, including advanced threat protection, continuous monitoring, incident response and compliance.

Advanced threat detection

Identifying and responding to sophisticated threats that traditional security measures may miss.

Continuous monitoring

Providing around-the-clock surveillance to detect and respond to threats in real-time.

Incident response

Offering rapid response capabilities to mitigate the impact of security incidents.

Compliance

Helping organisations meet regulatory requirements and maintain compliance with industry standards.

How MDR works for your organisation

At Advania, we’ve developed our MDR service based around Microsoft security technologies that cover key attack perimeters across identities, infrastructure, devices, apps and data. Our MDR for Devices service focuses on endpoints, including end-user devices and servers, which are protected with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

Our MDR service is easy to onboard and put into service in your organisation, offering proactive and reactive services to manage cyber threats and their impact on your organisation with Managed Detection and Response for Endpoints from Microsoft. Here are the features of the service at a glance:

• Detection: continuous high-fidelity threat detection and alerting with Microsoft, community and Advania-developed custom detections
• Triage: triage and investigation of threat alerts, including escalation to incident status for broader response
• Response: 24/7 response to critical incidents leveraging automated and manual runbooks
• Visibility: reporting on key performance indicators and activities with access to your security portal
• Continuous improvement: tuning automated response capabilities and managing business approved exceptions

MDR vs EDR vs XDR

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) focuses on detecting and responding to threats on individual endpoints. EDR provides detailed information about the nature and source of threats but requires a higher level of technical knowledge to operate.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR), however, expands on EDR by integrating data from multiple security layers, including endpoints, networks, and cloud environments. XDR provides a more comprehensive view of the threat landscape and enables more effective threat detection and response.

Managed Detection and Response combines the capabilities of EDR and XDR with human expertise to provide continuous monitoring, analysis, and response. MDR offers a more holistic approach to threat management, making it suitable for organisations of all sizes.

MDR vs managed SIEM

Managed Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) focuses on collecting and analysing security event data from various sources to identify potential threats. Managed SIEM provides centralised visibility and reporting but may require significant customisation and tuning.

On the other hand, MDR offers a more focused approach to threat detection and response, leveraging advanced technologies and human expertise. MDR provides continuous monitoring and rapid response capabilities, making it a more proactive solution compared to managed SIEM.

MDR vs CSOC

Managed detection and response offers a focused approach to threat detection and response, based on the higher visibility provided by MDR-aligned tools, like endpoint detection and response. It can achieve this because the technology has a broader view of the attack chain and has the analytic capability to combine signals from the many sources of telemetry on an endpoint. MDR offers the ability to benefit from this from a specialised and scalable team of experts that can monitor and respond to potential threats.

Meanwhile, a cyber security operations centre (CSOC) offers a wider scope with more customisation in the end to end incident response process. This means that it can be configured to your exact use case – but that customised approach can stretch beyond the budgets of small and medium-sized businesses. For smaller businesses, we often find that exact use cases are not known and is the very reason they are in the market for a solution. Advania’s MDR service focuses on the most prevalent threats and applies its detection and response expertise to these.

MDR vs antimalware

Antimalware software is used to detect and remove malware such as viruses and spyware from a computer or network. It is typically installed on individual computers or on a network server and scans files and data for known malicious code.

The benefits of antimalware software are that it is relatively easy to use, doesn’t require a high level of technical knowledge, and is generally effective at detecting and removing known malware threats.

However, it’s not very effective at detecting new or unknown threats, and it can be resource-intensive, slowing down computer performance. Antimalware software also typically has a narrow view of a cyber threat’s attack chain, which can be a problem particularly where the threat actor is not using ‘malware’ to compromise a user or a device. 

On the other hand, MDR software can detect both known and unknown threats, and it can provide detailed information about the nature and source of a threat, allowing for targeted responses. MDR software is generally more effective than antimalware software at detecting and responding to advanced threats, but it does require a higher level of technical knowledge to operate. 

How to choose an MDR service

Many also believe that if you’ve got basic security measures mastered, you simply don’t need the advanced cover MDR provides – this isn’t true. Threats have evolved to bypass basic antivirus and antimalware. Today, you need to maintain a layered security approach, with advanced threat detection as a starting point.

While antimalware and antivirus solutions can help you stop a malware based attack, they can only do that once it’s made its way into your network and devices. These technologies are no longer enough to keep your data safe and secure. MDR offers 24/7 monitoring and response, capable of detecting many types of threat, not just malware, before it can have an impact.

But what do you need to consider when selecting an MDR service for your organisation? 

• Expertise: ensure the provider has a qualified team of experienced security professionals
• Technology: look for advanced threat detection technologies
• Scalability: choose a service that can scale effectively to meet the demands of your organisation
• Cost: evaluate the total cost of ownership and ensure it aligns with your budgetary constraints
• Integration: confirm that the MDR service is compatible with your existing IT infrastructure