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Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
Cyber security has become necessary for any major business or organization due to the increased cyber threats. The rampant rise in cyber threats consequently increases the application of Endpoint Detection and Response, or EDR for short.
If you are not much familiar with the term, this article aims to explain everything about EDR to you. So, be sure to read till the end.
What is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?
EDR is a cyber security technology focused on eliminating cyber threats that bypass the first line of defense. EDR technology is good at identifying hidden dangers and has sufficient neutralization capability.
Usually, EDR platforms pair this technology with sufficiently powerful augmentations to deal with threats directly. Collecting data regarding security threats is also another aspect of EDR technology. It is good at analyzing relevant data to determine the threat's origin and sources.
EDR is a comprehensive security solution that can effectively identify and respond to threats in real-time. It monitors the behaviour of malicious files and creates a blacklist based on that. It seeks to deduce the origin and entry points to prevent future breaches.
What is EDR vs. Antivirus?
Antivirus and EDR are different things, the former significantly outclassing the latter. An Antivirus is a database-based protection solution that can not proactively identify new threats unless it gets a database update. EDR has a behaviour-based monitoring system that can identify unknown threats through patterns.
EDR can analyze the operation data of any malicious files. It finds how the threat got in and what it did when it was in the system. This information can help prevent similar cases in the future. EDR also has quarantine ability to isolate the files.
An Antivirus is overly reliant on its database, and most do not have self-learning capabilities. Such software can eliminate the basic security risks like malware, adware, trojans, etc. but not the advanced threats that are harder to detect.
However, an antivirus's biggest drawback is its reliance on the database since there's always downtime before someone identifies a new threat and updates the database accordingly.
Do You Need Antivirus If You Have EDR?
Antivirus is the standard solution to malware and other malicious cyber threats, but it is slowly becoming obsolete. The EDR is a security solution that has the qualities of antivirus and much more. It offers more comprehensive protection and preventive solutions.
Antivirus usually works by comparing your files to known malicious viruses. The capabilities of the antivirus depend on how updated its database is. Different antivirus software has different ways of handling the details, but they essentially follow the same fundamental process.
So, while an antivirus can act as a vanguard, it cannot delve deeper to deal with new threats. EDR solutions are generally much better than most antivirus, so you don’t need both. Having both in one system can cause unnecessary conflicts.
Can EDR Detect Malware?
EDR can indeed detect malware, and it is quite good at it. Malware is a harmful file that can damage your system or steal your data. There are many kinds of malware, and they use various methods to enter the system. So, an adaptable solution such as EDR is a perfect solution for malware.
Malware can spread across networks to every endpoint. Some malware is aggressive and starts taking action immediately, while some are quite benign and harder to detect. EDR can effectively identify both types through careful behavioural analysis.
Malware authors can spread their creations in several ways. Directly infecting a network through the internet is the most common but also the most expected. They may also use hard drives like a USB or some other physical carrier as the infection.
What Is Data Collected By EDR?
EDR is characterized by its ability to analyze and organize data. An EDR starts its operation by monitoring the endpoint. If it detects a threat, it will do its best to eliminate it and collect some data for future analysis.
People may feel wary of the data it collects, but assuredly it is nothing serious. It mainly collects behavioural data related to the infected fill. Such information helps the EDR identify the loopholes the malware used to enter the system.
This data is more commonly known as cyber threat intelligence. The process is transparent, so you can see how your system was compromised. EDR can also stipulate how such encounters may go in the future. You can use these inputs to understand the source of the issues and better prepare for the future.
What Problems Does EDR Solve?
Before EDR, most businesses used traditional Antivirus software to protect their data. But those applications failed to deal with the ever-growing range of threats from different hackers and malware authors.
It fell on EDR’s shoulders to deal with constantly changing malware. Malware authors used various ways to mask malware from traditional antivirus by changing their encryption styles or adding extra bytes to make them look different. While such methods can conceal malware from a database-reliant antivirus, the behaviour of malware remains the same.
EDR can follow the behaviour pattern of the malware to identify it regardless of its mask. It can also analyze these malware activities to produce better protection parameters. In short, EDR solves the problem of dealing with the new wave of malware.
How Does EDR Detect Ransomware?
Ransomware is malware that encrypts certain files on the infected device. The original user can no longer access the infected files, and the attacker can demand certain payments to return the files. Hence the name ransomware.
Such malware can spread through emails, malicious attachments, links, or infected websites. EDR can block ransomware threats by identifying the attack ahead of time. It can identify unsafe links, websites, and other attachments and warn the user.
If ransomware infects an endpoint, an effective EDR will quarantine the threat zone as fast as possible. A good EDR can also slowly eradicate the threat and restore the system to its previous state. But when it comes to ransomware, prevention is indeed better than cure.
EDR is very good at detecting ransomware due to its machine-learning capabilities. It can identify good behaviour from bad and slowly create a self-evolving database to separate things into an allowlist and blocklist.
Conclusion
So, that is all on EDR and its applications to improve your business's security against cyber attacks. It has become an essential aspect of every major business that people with malicious intentions can target.
Contact us to learn more about the types of cyber vulnerabilities every business has and probable solutions to overcome them. Thanks for stopping by, and we hope you found what you were looking for in this article.
