XDR in Cybersecurity stands for extended detection and response. It is the cybersecurity solution that is used to gather and automatically correlate data across different security layers, including cloud-based systems, network endpoints, and email. It helps teams detect threats quickly and makes investigations easier through complete analysis.
Minor threats can be hidden between security silos and can cause issues. XDR detects these threats by breaking down silos. It uses the holistic approach to detect and respond according to the nature of the threat. The automated analysis of data helps to identify threats faster and helps investigation teams speed up their process. Let’s find out more information about the security layers that can be used for XDR.
How Does Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Work
It collects data from different layers that include cloud environments and networks. It also uses AI and machine learning to analyze the patterns and anomalies that can help companies manage threats better. Suspicious activities like unusual logins can be detected by the endpoint, and the network layer registers data exfiltration, so it generates an automated response by correlating these events.
It is important to understand the workflow of the XDR so you can understand how it works. Here are some key points that will help you know how XDR helps in response workflow and investigation. It also highlights steps that are used to detect, analyze, and respond to security breaches.
Threat Detection
It continuously monitors the alerts and logs from different tools that are implemented in the company’s IT infrastructure. This threat detection stage focuses on detecting the threats by unified data collection from different sources. Also, data enrichment tools and threat intelligence integration help to highlight minor issues that can turn out to be serious threats.
Incident Assessment
After identifying the potential incident, relevant alerts are provided to the teams so they can understand the context of the situation and take the right measures to prevent any security breach.
Response
Response actions are taken on the basis of the assessment to mitigate threats and protect the network and systems. Some of these response actions are blocking harmful indicators like domain or IP addresses. Endpoint isolation also helps prevent threats from spreading in networks. It may also be suggested for users to reset their passwords to avoid unauthorized access.
Continuous Monitoring and Improvement
Continuous scanning helps improve the security posture of the company and detect threats quickly. The dashboards offer real-time monitoring of the endpoints that ensures proactive threat detection. It also ensures compliance with the company’s security policies, which reduces the risk of threats that can occur on external devices.
Challenges in Other Cyber Security Solutions
Security operation center (SOC) experts face different challenges in response and detection, so they need to overcome these challenges to detect threats and reduce the risks of security breaches.
Dealing with Plenty of Alerts
IT teams have to deal with the alerts of different cybersecurity solutions, which can be really hectic. A company with hundreds of employees has to deal with thousands of alerts that are sent by SIEM solutions. It can be really frustrating and time-consuming when IT teams have to deal with plenty of alerts to keep an eye on the actual events.
On the other hand, XDR provides clarity to the teams so they can have accurate alerts and prioritize the right alerts to take actionable steps.
Visibility Gaps
Another challenge that companies face is the visibility gaps among cybersecurity solutions. Each cyber solution offers different perspectives and features, so they gather data in different ways. The integration between security solutions allows data exchange, so there are restrictions in each solution that leave gaps that create difficulties for analysts in finding the actual cause of the security incident.
XDR uses the latest analytics tools and threat intelligence to provide the complete context of the threats by gathering and accessing full data. Also, it provides the full context of the chain of events that occurs in security layers, which provides better clarity to the teams.
Issues in Investigations
When teams have to deal with plenty of alerts and logs daily without any clear indications, it can be tough to find the root cause of the issue. Investigating incidents can be really time-consuming, so it is important to have the right resources that can save you time and effort and help you achieve the desired results.
XDR automates the investigation, so no manual effort is required. With valuable tools for analysis, experts can examine the timeline of the attack and analyze the servers, endpoints, email, and networks. By assessing each step of the attack, experts can take the necessary steps.
Slow Detection
Another drawback is that when threats are undetected for a long time, they increase the response time, so slow detection is a major challenge because it increases the risks of cyber-attacks. XDR improves response times and threat detection rates. Therefore, companies need to implement this solution to improve security risk management and threat detection.
Comparison of XDR and EDR
Extended Detection and Response shows the evolution of security threat detection and response. EDR has also been valuable for companies, but it is restricted in terms of capability, as it only identifies and responds to threats at the managed endpoints. It reduces the scope of threats that can be identified and also affects the effectiveness of the response in the SOC.
Comparison of XDR and SIEM
Companies leverage SIEM solutions to gather logs and alerts and use this information to have better visibility. As a result, they have to deal with an overwhelming number of alerts, which makes things difficult for the teams to understand. It is not possible to get the larger picture of the context with only SIEM solutions.
XDR gathers the deep activity data and provides that information to the relevant team so they can use this data to hunt and investigate breaches across different security layers. XDR uses expert analytics for the rich data set and provides valuable alerts to better understand the context. It can also be sent to the SIEM solution for better utilization. It is important to understand that XDR does not replace the SIEM, as it only reduces the time for experts to analyze the alerts and set priorities according to the nature of threats.
Capabilities of Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
XDR requires multiple security layers to perform the response and detection activities. It collects data from multiple layers for the data layers to provide information to the relevant department. It also uses purpose-built AI and security analytics that help to detect threats faster. It streamlines workflows and helps security analysts channel their efforts in the right direction. Companies can better optimize team efforts by removing the need for manual efforts and smoothly integrating this solution with other cybersecurity solutions like SIEM.
Benefits of Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
Here are some of the main benefits of Extended Detection and Response, so let’s find out how it can be beneficial for your business.
Good Visibility
Good visibility is crucial for the timely detection of threats. If you cannot detect a threat on time, then it becomes very difficult to prevent the damage. This solution offers great visibility with amazing capabilities that enhances detection and helps teams act quickly. By better understanding of the context, analysts can analyze how different things are linked to each other so they can resolve the issue efficiently.
Data Retention
XDR assesses and correlates data from the cloud, endpoint, and network, ensuring data retention and saving it from getting compromised at the hands of attackers.
Internal and External Traffic Analysis
The detection strategies mainly focus on external attackers to provide teams with clarity regarding potential threats. XDR not only identifies external attacks but also analyzes internal threats and malicious behavior so that no one can misuse the credentials.
Integrated Threat Intelligence
It also makes the most out of the integrated threat intelligence and gathers the relevant information from the previous attacks to find the subsequent attack within your IT system.
Personalized Detection
This solution offers customized detection that fits the specific needs of the company. It can control predefined and custom detections.
Machine Learning Detection
It also helps to uncover the attacks with the sensors at the endpoint network and with the data that is collected from different sources. Machine learning is the only method to process the massive volume of data from the company.
It makes things easier for analysts as well by providing them with better speed and machine power. The XDR uses the analytics process of machine learning to detect anomalies in the systems and networks.
Features of Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
Here are some features of Extended Detection and Reponse that you must know to understand how it works.
Data Integration
It integrates data from different security layers, which is different from traditional solutions. XDR correlates and aggregates information from different sources to give a unified view of the cybersecurity landscape. It helps with accurate threat detection and good response times.
Scalability
This solution is scalable that can be smoothly integrated into the current cybersecurity landscape as per the needs of different companies. It is a flexible architecture that can be adjusted to any company’s existing technologies and security tools.
Advanced Analytics
It has advanced analytics that can correlate activities across security layers and identify complex patterns that typical solutions do not have. It helps to detect complex attack patterns like network anomalies and unusual login attempts.
Cross-Layer Visibility
XDR offers cross-layer visibility across different security layers that give better context to the security teams to understand the nature of threats. The cross-layer visibility helps teams assess data from networks, endpoints, and cloud-based systems in a single interface. It gives a better understanding of the scope of threats that can lead to effective threat detection.
Behavioral Analysis
XDR uses behavioral analysis to differentiate between deviations and normal activities. By analyzing the user behavior, it can determine what a normal activity is and what a deviation is. Any unusual activity triggers the alert that enables the early detection of threats.
Use Cases of Extended Detection and Response
This solution has revolutionized the cybersecurity industry and is now widely used in different industries by offering effective threat detection and response services and improving investigation procedures.
Offering Protection to Large Businesses
Large companies get plenty of daily alerts that can be difficult to handle for the companies. On the other hand, XDR provides cutting-edge detection tools to assess systems and networks that help to strengthen the overall security of IT infrastructure.
Defense Against Advanced Threats
It helps to build a strong defense mechanism against advanced threats. It prevents stealthy attacks that aim to gain prolonged access to the networks and systems for stealing data or causing disruptions in operational matters. XDR has a powerful defense mechanism that enables automated response and implements different security tools to understand the targeted attacks for effective response.