Detecting and responding to threat activity is a cornerstone of a successful cybersecurity strategy. Your approach to detection and response can have a large impact on your overall security posture. Both Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) address this need, but in different ways. 

What is Managed Detection and Response (MDR)?

MDR is a service offered by a third-party security vendor. Instead of deploying your own in-house security resources and expertise to proactively detect threat actor activity, you outsource that responsibility to a team of specialists.

Your MDR vendor may use a variety of technologies—including EDR—to identify suspicious activity and conduct incident response actions on your network. It will act as an extension of your security team, providing data and insights whenever it discovers unauthorized activity. Some MDR vendors conduct investigations and manage remediation actions as well.

Most organizations find it difficult to reliably meet all security needs in-house. If an especially complex attack occurs, you might need additional expertise and resources to address it. MDR vendors provide on-demand access to highly specialized skills, guiding incident response activities and continuously monitoring against new threats. The best MDR vendors customize their clients’ tools and technologies for optimal performance and cost-effectiveness.

MDR benefits and capabilities

MDR vendors help organizations optimize security performance and efficiency in multiple ways:

• In-depth product expertise. Your MDR vendor provides specialist expertise for implementing advanced security technologies successfully. On-demand expert support reduces the risks associated with complex implementations.
• 24/7 monitoring and alarming. Your MDR partner’s Security Operations Center (SOC) acts as an extension of your own. Their analysts will monitor your environment for signs of suspicious activity and alert you when it occurs.
• Custom detection rules. Your security tools won’t operate at full capacity in their default configuration. MDR vendors can configure those tools to meet your specific security needs using custom-built rules and workflows.
• Access to best-of-breed technology. You can work with your MDR to set up a tech stack that utilizes the best technologies for your IT environment. Your vendor will help you integrate these tools with one another so they work together.

What is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a cybersecurity technology that captures and logs activity on laptops, servers, and mobile devices. These endpoints are often the first line of defense against unauthorized activity. A well-configured EDR solution can detect unusual activity, alert the SOC, and help stop an attack before it spreads to other devices. 

EDR solutions typically offer the following features: 

• Monitoring endpoint devices and recording events that occur on those devices. 
• Opening endpoint devices to analysts so they can conduct investigations. 
• Detecting suspicious activities, and prioritizing detected events according to risk. 
• Analyzing data to provide actionable intelligence for incident response. 

Advanced EDR solutions also provide in-depth customization and automation capabilities. This allows SOC analysts to create in-depth incident response playbooks and run them when unauthorized activity is detected. This dramatically reduces key incident response metrics like Mean-Time-to-Detect (MTTD) and Mean-Time-to-Respond (MTTR). 

MDR vs. EDR: A side-by-side comparison

The main difference between MDR and EDR is that one is a managed service while the other is a technology. Since MDR is a service, it comes with the benefits of human expertise according to service-level agreements (SLAs) made with the vendor.

Which one is right for your organization?

MDR and EDR are not mutually exclusive. Organizations that leverage MDR partnerships also get EDR coverage—often alongside other security technologies like Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Network Detection and Response (NDR). 

Every organization has a unique security risk profile. The decision to implement EDR or subscribe to a comprehensive MDR service depends on your security environment, risk profile, and budget.

EDR helps improve the security of individual endpoint devices. It can be a valuable tool for organizations with simple IT infrastructure who need to ensure their devices meet modern security requirements. As the organization gets more complex, its exposure to advanced threats increases.

MDR provides greater security and scalability to organizations. This is especially valuable for IT teams managing complex networks. If responding to a cybersecurity incident draws more resources than your organization has in-house, your MDR vendor can quickly delegate more resources to remediating the threat.

Make Lumifi your MDR partner

Lumifi leverages proprietary technology to consolidate EDR, NDR, and SIEM into a complete security package. ShieldVision™ automates security operations while providing unlimited visibility into your environment.