Endpoints, such as laptops, mobile phones, desktops, tablets and servers, are devices that function the last point on your network. Often, this means endpoints are directly used by employees. 

Unfortunately, endpoints are the most popular target of cyber attacks from criminals. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions, which seek to fortify endpoints in your organisation, are therefore a critical element of modern cyber security strategies. 

Effective EDR solutions should be able to recover even those endpoints that have already been compromised or breached. Incorporating EDR into your cyber security improves the security of both the devices connected to your network and your overall IT system. 

 

What is EDR? 

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions detect threats that exist in your network and endpoint environment and then respond to them. Powerful EDR engines can complete this process in real-time, meaning you see the threat as soon as it manifests. 

An EDR solution should first take a snapshot of how your network and systems currently operate to establish a baseline of regular operations. It then monitors for suspicious or anomalous behaviour, including threats that sneak past the front line of your defence.  

EDR solutions also analyse the nature of cyber threats for further insights. That means you’ll understand how the threat was initiated, which parts of your network it attacked, what it’s currently doing, and how to stop the threat altogether.  

 

Why do you need EDR? 

EDR is important in the modern cyber landscape because traditional solutions such as antivirus engines are becoming less effective. Sophisticated threats can penetrate edge security like firewalls, but an EDR solution can detect, contain, and eliminate the threat at the endpoint even if it’s breached the perimeter of your IT infrastructure. 

EDR is also essential for the modern remote workforce, as cyber security teams need to worry about the rapidly expanding number of endpoints in an organisation. Plus, with the evolution of modern technology, you now also need to defend IoT devices such as smart watches, which weren’t a problem even a decade ago. 

With the greater number of endpoints, and with cyber crime constantly growing, it’s easier than ever for cyber threats to infiltrate your defences. That means you need to supplement traditional defences, such as antivirus engines and firewalls, with newer solutions such as EDR. 

 

What are the key components of EDR? 

EDR security provides an organisation with a centre for collecting, organising, and analysing data from the endpoints connected to it. EDR solutions use three key elements to coordinate responses and alerts to cyber threats:  

  • Endpoint data collection agents 

Endpoint data collection agents monitor endpoints and collect data. This includes data involving processes, activity, connections, and the data transferred to and from the endpoint. 

  • Automated incident response 

After your IT team develops rules for your EDR system to follow, its automated incident response capability allows it to identify threats and automatically respond to it. An example response would be sending an alert that the endpoint’s user will be logged off. 

  • Analysis 

Your EDR solution analyses endpoint data in real time to quickly diagnose threats, even if they don’t match your preconfigured rules and threat parameters. Post-resolution, analysis should also use forensic tools to understand the nature of the threat and how the attack was executed.  

 

What’s the difference between Endpoint Protection (EPP) and EDR? 

EDR aims to target advanced threats that have been engineered to get past primary defences and have gotten inside your environment. EDR has the capability to deal with more advanced threats, such as fileless attacks and advanced persistent threats (APT). 

An EPP, on the other hand, aims to deal with threats when they reach the perimeter of your network. EPP solutions can include antivirus, anti-malware, firewalls, data encryption, and other forms of defences. EPP is usually effective for protecting against traditional threats like malware. 

EPP acts as the first layer of defence while EDR acts on threats that have already manifested. Given the sophistication of modern threats, it’s nearly impossible for an EPP to catch all threats and prevent them from penetrating your system, so an effective endpoint security plan should include both EDR and EPP. 

 

Why Managed EDR? 

A managed security service provider (MSSP) enables a lightning-fast response to protect your network. Speed is crucial because EDR often deals with threats that have already breached your perimeter, and even small increases in mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) can be extremely costly. 

An MSSP’s team constantly tracks all processes and their interactions at the agent level, using the technology to detect malicious activity, which triggers the rapid response rate. They can also help you remediate devices that are already compromised by rolling back endpoints to their pre-infected state, ensuring business uptime. 

If you want to take your endpoint security to the next level, our managed detection and response (MDR) service successfully detects and responds to both internal and external threats. 

 

Why CT? 

Equipped with a small footprint and backed by award-winning customer service and system support, CT EDR can be deployed on devices with limited resources, such as point-of-sale (POS) terminals running real-time operation systems and process controllers in manufacturing operations. This also enables greater scalability, with our service capable of protecting hundreds of thousands of endpoints. 

Some of the key capabilities of CT EDR include: 

  • discovery and risk mitigation  
  • next-generation antivirus (NGAV)  
  • behaviour-based detection 
  • real-time blocking and Advanced Threat protection 
  • automated incident response  
  • forensic investigation  
  • threat hunting  
  • virtual patching capabilities  

    CT EDR integrates seamlessly with our fabric components, network, email, and firewalls to provide a complete picture of any malicious activity, enabling rapid and efficient cyber response. Our platform also enables business continuity with the ability to deliver response and remediation on running systems, which helps enable business uptime and enable organisational productivity. For maximum protection, our EDR solution should be deployed in conjunction with our SIEM platform.