What Is Endpoint Detection and Response? (EDR?)
EDR is a host-based security solution that monitors endpoints within an organization’s IT environment to detect and respond to malicious and anomalous activity from internal or external sources. It can operate as a standalone solution or serve as a component of a broader integrated response solution or service – specifically, EDR is often a critical technical component of a managed detection and response (MDR) solution.
When a suspicious action occurs, the EDR agent installed on the endpoint will trigger an alert, informing the security professional monitoring the EDR solution that something potentially malicious has been detected. While attacks are always changing, the behavior of malicious software and malicious actors are often quite similar from one threat event to the next.
What distinguishes EDR from traditional endpoint protection (EPP) solutions is that EDR allows the security professional to take remediation action once a detection has occurred — the “response” part of endpoint detection and response. While features vary by vendor, most include the ability to isolate the host system from the rest of the network to prevent an attack from spreading to other endpoints in the environment.
Beyond the isolation capability, some vendors offer more advanced responses including conducting follow-on static and dynamic malware analysis for inconclusive findings, isolating or deleting malicious files, triggering additional log gathering for follow-up forensic analysis, terminating processes or killing services, and supporting policy-based automation.
Why is EDR Important?
Endpoints, including laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices, are a primary battleground in modern cyber defense. The diversity in operating systems, applications, and end user roles and activities contribute to a high level of complexity.
Threat actors have observed these challenges as well, often taking advantage of an organization’s lack of endpoint visibility, or endpoint misconfigurations and insufficient security hygiene. According to recent threat intelligence research conducted by Arctic Wolf:
- Only 40% of security leaders indicated that they have 100% endpoint visibility coverage and expect to maintain that level in the future.
Discover more insights into endpoint security in The Arctic Wolf State of Cybersecurity 2025 Trends Report.
Given the broad scope of modern endpoint attacks, endpoint security solutions must do more than block basic malware. Achieving effective endpoint security is much more complex than simply installing security software and monitoring for threats. According to recent threat intelligence research conducted by Arctic Wolf:
EDR offers visibility, insight, and the ability to respond to threats on endpoints across the extended enterprise. These three elements not only help an organization respond to endpoint threats in near-real time but also allow security teams to better understand the enterprise environment and apply proactive endpoint defenses aided by the subsequent visibility. Many organizations consider endpoint security to be the foundation of their overall security strategy.
What Are the Key Benefits of EDR?
1. Behavioral-Based Detection
Unlike tools that only monitor for known threats, many EDR solutions use a behavioral detection engine to detect suspicious activities that may indicate an unknown threat by identifying activities on the endpoint that are in some way unusual.
2. Lateral Movement/Threat Escalation Prevention
EDR helps security teams detect multistage attacks early, by identifying the specific techniques attackers use to leverage the endpoint to gain a foothold in an IT environment. This thwarts the threat actor’s ability to move into other parts of the network and escalate an attack.
3. Contextualization
EDR can help provide more context behind a detection, using threat intelligence and other third-party data to enrich its findings. This serves to increase the detail and confidence in a finding, which in turn helps enterprises tailor the response and apply future proactive security measures post-incident.
4. Remediation Speed
EDR can accelerate a breach investigation, reducing the time and cost of an incident, as well as limiting potential damage to an organization.
Key Features and Capabilities of EDR
Data Collection and Exploration
- Endpoint visibility and activity data
- Forensic-grade, customizable log collection
Threat Detection
- Malware
- Fileless threats (memory-based infections)
- User behavioral analysis
- Identity-related threat patterns
- Alert triage / incident investigation
- Suspicious activity detection
Response Actions
- Terminate / suspend processes
- Terminate / suspend process trees
- Log out users
- Create forensic data packages
Managed Endpoint Detection and Response
Managed endpoint detection and response (mEDR) combines EDR technology with the expertise of a third-party team, allowing organizations to detect and contain threats quickly, even when internal resources are limited. It’s important to note that mEDR is also not the same as managed detection and response (MDR). While some vendors use the terms interchangeably, mEDR focuses specifically on the endpoint layer, whereas MDR provides broader visibility and response across the full IT environment.
Learn the differences and key benefits of EDR and MDR, along with insights into how to select a solution and a vendor for your organization.
What Are the Limitations of EDR?
Threat actors have any number of ways to launch and execute attacks, many of which don’t directly involve compromising the endpoint. As such, relying solely or primarily on EDR for threat detection can create gaps in an organization’s defenses.
The limitations of EDR include:
Limited Monitoring Capabilities
While endpoints are an important part of an organization’s environment, they are not the only target for threat actors, especially in the early stages of an attack. In fact, unsecured remote desktop protocol (RDP) and compromised VPN credentials are the leading root causes of ransomware cases investigated by Arctic Wolf® Incident Response in 2024. Both of those root causes are application-based, not endpoint-based, highlighting how threat actors can work around EDR detection to gain initial access.
Limited Visibility
EDR only provides a security team with visibility to the endpoint and often prioritizes its own telemetry for the purpose of threat detection. This isn’t to say that visibility into the endpoint isn’t valuable, but it should be one of many sources that security teams (or security solutions) monitor. Correlating multiple sources of telemetry for broad visibility can reduce alert noise and lead to earlier, more precise detections.
EDR Is Technology Only
Like other security tools, EDR doesn’t solve for common security team challenges, including lack of personnel, turnover, lack of expertise, inability to fine-tune tools, and the inability to respond to threats 24×7. Set–up, configuration, and consistent adjustments for EDR solutions take time, budget, and knowledge that organizations may not have readily available.
How Do You Select an EDR Solution?
Endpoints remain the front line of cyber defense. It’s where security teams have their best chance to detect, contain, and eliminate threats before they spread.
But in a crowded, converging market, technology alone isn’t enough. The true measure of an EDR solution is how well its capabilities align with your organization’s risk profile, operational capacity, and long-term objectives without driving unnecessary cost or complexity. In other words: How much does it catch and how much does it cost?
Factors to Consider When Evaluating EDR Solutions:
- How does the solution incorporate telemetry? Is it single-source (limited to the endpoint) or multiple-source (pulling it telemetry from other sources like the cloud)?
- How is AI incorporated? What additional or augmented capabilities does AI provide?
- What is the stated rate of false positive alerts?
- Does it allow for custom tuning to your specific environment?
- Does the solution’s forensic capabilities allow for root-cause investigation?
- Can it isolate endpoints and terminate processes?
- Is it vendor-agnostic or locked-in to a security vendor’s platform and suite of solutions?
- Does it aid in or streamline the compliance process?
Learn more about endpoint security and how to select the right solution for your organization in our endpoint resource, Solving Endpoint Security Challenges.
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