Managed Detection & Response

Ransomware, corporate espionage, denial of service, etc., are negative and potentially catastrophic outcomes that impact business operations and cost companies billions of dollars annually. With networks “always on,” the risk is 24x7.

Security operations

As a result, for effective risk mitigation it’s imperative to establish a business operations strategy that can defend the network 24x7. It’s understood that a mature security program will be the right mix of people, process and technology. However, in a challenging labor market, the people who define and execute the process are difficult to hire and retain.

Businesses are paying a premium for technical talent – especially in the domain of cybersecurity. With these labor market fluctuations, controlling talent turnover as well as costs makes building an “in-house” security team a risky endeavor. As a result, executing a 24x7 security operations function for effective risk mitigation is increasingly difficult to achieve. Partnering with a managed security services provider can help reduce the risk of inconsistent delivery of security operations services.  

Where to focus

It’s important to understand and prioritize risk probability. Common wisdom holds that the greatest risk exposure exists at the end point – where computer users interact with the internet daily.

According to Google, 90% of cyberattacks begin with a phishing link. An unsuspecting click on an email attachment has the potential to encrypt company data and bring business operations to a halt in a matter of seconds – and no company wants to experience its data being held for ransom. So it’s imperative to reduce risk exposure and invest in threat prevention.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Simply stated, it’s much easier to invest in proactive threat prevention than incur an expensive post-breach forensic analysis remediation effort for threat resolution. 

Effective threat prevention begins with a modern end point detection and response (EDR) solution. Traditional signature-based antivirus software is no longer capable of blocking modern threats. A modern EDR solution will incorporate traditional antivirus software and behavioral prevention that will protect against such threats as file-less malware, living off the land attacks, variant payloads, etc.

Management of the EDR solution is critical for an effective defense. As executive leadership is responsible for implementing the most effective 24x7 risk mitigation strategy while controlling costs, outsourcing or co-sourcing security operations center (SOC) services is a proven strategy. Consistency in spending within a defined budget, paired with confidence in security service outcomes, can be achieved through an external partner that becomes an extension of an organization’s security team.

MDR:

Managed detection and response (MDR) is arguably the most proactive security service that will prevent ransomware and defend the organization against external or internal attacks.

With MDR, expect to achieve the following:

• 24x7 security operations, proactive threat prevention, analysis and action
• Real-time threat prevention of static and behavioral threats
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning enrichment of threat activity
• Full story line visualizations & investigation capability
• Efficient SOC action on threat triage, quarantine, blocking, remediation and resolution

A team of security specialists dedicated to the management and security operations of EDR will help ensure that your investment in end point protection maximizes its value. 

Security and defense against today’s threat landscape is an ever-evolving and important endeavor – and a difficult one, given the pace of threat changes. If you aren’t confident in your organization’s ability to identify or respond to threat activity such as ransomware, an MDR service may be the right fit to help protect your organization. 

Recommendations:

• Assess your attack surface and risk: Identify assets and existing security controls
• Evaluate your current end point security performance, leveraging the latest MITRE ATT&CK testing: https://attackevals.mitre-engenuity.org/enterprise/wizard-spider-sandworm/
• Evaluate your security operations: Is your team strong enough to consistently deliver on its own, or should you consider a security services partner to bolster your defenses? 

Ready to get started?

Work with us

The information provided here is for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, legal advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal or other competent advisers.