What is mEDR?
mEDR is a detection and response solution that adds a service layer onto an endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, providing a fully managed cybersecurity service that combines next-generation EDR technology with continuous human expertise. The service is often rendered by the vendor who provides the EDR tool, further helping customers maximize the capabilities of that specific tool.
It protects endpoints (such as desktops, laptops, servers, mobile devices, and often IoT systems) from advanced cyber threats, while reducing the burden on in-house teams in terms of solution management.
Five Key Features of mEDR
Managed EDR has five main features, all designed to detect and respond to endpoint threats or cyber incidents, and all backed by third-party human expertise and management.
Main components of mEDR include:
1. Continuous Endpoint Monitoring and Protection.
Like standalone EDR tools, mEDR works to monitor, detect, and respond to threats on endpoints within an organization’s environment. The main difference between EDR and mEDR is the additional human component of mEDR, which can investigate alerts that may arise, often 24×7, and filter out false positives
2. Advanced Threat Detection.
While the specifics will vary by the vendor and the technology, mEDR solutions commonly leverage behavioral analytics, AI/machine learning, and threat intelligence to identify both known and emerging endpoint threats such as ransomware, zero-day exploits, fileless malware, social engineering, and insider attacks
3. Expert-Driven Alert and Threat Investigation.
One of the main reasons to obtain an mEDR solution is access to additional human expertise. With mEDR, a third-party can validate alerts, immediately investigate potential threats, and perform automated response actions on behalf of the client organization
4. Report and Compliance Support.
Like other EDR technologies, mEDR can generate logs, audit trails, and actionable reports, which can support regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS) while improving security posture over time
5. Access to Third-Party Expertise.
While mEDR contains many of the same features found in standalone EDR tools, the primary differentiator is the human element. Managed EDR providers offer a third-party team of security experts, often available 24×7, who can manage and fine-tune the technology, apply unique experience and expertise to investigations, and assist customers with other related tasks. As we’ll discuss below, this addition can greatly reduce the burden on internal security teams, creating increased endpoint security efficiency and efficacy.
How Does mEDR work?
The key to understanding mEDR is to view it as a solution comprised of technology plus human-driven service. The technology component provides endpoint monitoring, detection, and response, as well as endpoint visibility data, and certain, vendor-specific logging and auditing capabilities. Layered on top of all that is the human element. EDR offers a purpose-specific team of security experts who manage, support, and optimize technology, creating rapid, successful endpoint threat remediation outcomes for the organization utilizing a managed EDR solution.
Learn more about the technical features of endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions.
Benefits of mEDR
As hybrid work, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, and sprawling attack surfaces become the norm for organizations, threat actors are working overtime to find new ways to infiltrate endpoints and launch sophisticated attacks. Malware and ransomware – two common and costly kinds of attacks – often begin on endpoints or at least infect them at some point during the kill chain. This rising tide of threats makes EDR technology critical for operational security.
However, tools alone can’t end cyber risk. Organizations need human help, and with constrained budgets, lack of internal expertise, and high turnover in the security analyst industry, relying on in-house teams alone to thoroughly manage, fine-tune, and utilize EDR solutions can be a difficult goal to achieve.
That is a primary benefit of mEDR, the extra hands-on support, as well as the breadth and depth of expertise third-party security analysts provide through managed EDR services.
Other benefits of mEDR include:
- Securing endpoints across the organization’s network as well as management of those endpoints as personal devices, personnel, and environment size change over time
- 24×7 threat detection that can be investigated at all hours by a third-party team, creating real-time response to threats, minimizing potential incidents and reducing incident response scope and time
- Proactive threat investigation and threat hunting within the environment by third-party security experts
- Comprehensive visibility into endpoints and any endpoint-related security within the environment
- Reduced burden on internal IT staff, thanks to the third-party management of the EDR technology and corresponding alerts
- Reduced cost for in-house security analysts, IT staff, and others, as well as potential elimination of the need for 24×7 in-house staff
- Customized alerting, scope, and remediation using the mEDR solution to tailor-fit an organization’s specific environment, risk profile, as well as security and business goals
Managed EDR vs. EDR vs. MDR vs. XDR
Definitions vary by vendor; the descriptions below reflect common industry usage rather than legal or standards-based definitions.
With a plethora of “detection and response” solutions on the market, the capabilities and scope of each one can become confusing.
In simple terms, here is how to differentiate between these types of solutions:
- EDR: A host-based security technology that monitors endpoints within an organization’s IT environment to detect and respond to malicious and anomalous activity from internal or external sources
- Managed EDR: An EDR solution combining technology with an additional service layer that provides third-party security expertise and solution management
- MDR: Managed detection and response (MDR) is a detection and response solution that combines human effort and expertise with a unified platform to provide comprehensive TDIR capabilities, delivered in the form of a managed service. MDR solutions offer similar services to managed EDR solutions, but the scope of the solution is much wider, often covering network, identity, and cloud sources of telemetry in addition to the endpoint.
- XDR: Extended detection and response (XDR), while often rooted to the endpoint, offers a unified platform dedicated to threat detection and response, providing consolidation, correlation, and contextualization of data and tools across an organization’s environment.
Explore different detection and response solutions in-depth.
Considerations When Purchasing an mEDR Solution
There is no single answer when it comes to purchasing an mEDR solution, or any kind of detection and response solution, as what’s a good fit for one organization may be a poor fit for another. But there are a few key considerations your organization should take into account when evaluating potential mEDR vendors.
Questions organizations need to ask include:
- Overall cost in both the short and long term
- Pricing structure regarding both the solution and the third-party support
- Extent of third-party expertise
- Extent of third-party responsibilities and coverage
- Integration with existing security tools and other aspects of the tech stack
Arctic Wolf Aurora Managed Endpoint Security
Designed to be easy to use and highly effective, Aurora Managed Endpoint Security works to strengthen your defenses and ultimately, protect your organization from costly breaches.
With key features such as 24×7 monitoring, alert triage, response actions, guided remediation, ongoing configuration assistance, and more, customers of Aurora Managed Endpoint Security receive outcome-driven endpoint protection backed by Arctic Wolf’s industry-leading Concierge Experience to help your organization enhance your security program while offering threat response and security expertise on demand.
Explore Aurora Managed Endpoint Security with our interactive experience.
