EDR

What is EDR?

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a term coined by Anton Chuvakin of Gartner, which refers to a specific type of endpoint security protection solution. Its primary function is to capture and monitor endpoint behavior, utilizing data analysis and context-based detection methods to identify abnormal and malicious activities. Furthermore, EDR solutions record relevant data regarding the detected malicious activities, facilitating thorough investigation and prompt response by security teams. Endpoints encompass various devices such as employee PCs, laptops, servers, cloud systems, mobile devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. EDR solutions typically encompass threat hunting, detection, analysis, and response capabilities.

The Significance of EDR

In the current landscape, endpoint security encounters significant risks and challenges. The deployment of an effective EDR solution has become crucial for safeguarding enterprise endpoints against network threats, regardless of their location within or outside the corporate networks.

1. Escalating prevalence of hacker intrusions: Instances of network attacks targeting endpoints, such as ransomware, mining, and advanced persistent threats (APTs), continue to rise. In 2020, ransomware cases witnessed a 150% increase. Additionally, in 2021, there was a staggering generation of 300 million new malware programs, with a daily average of 30,000 hacked websites.

2. Inadequate mechanisms for managing enterprise security risks: Large enterprises often possess a considerable number of hosts. Insufficient expertise among operations and maintenance (O&M) personnel in handling security assets, essential configurations, and system vulnerabilities on these hosts exposes them to substantial security risks. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities by hackers or malicious competitors can result in service disruptions or data breaches.

3. Growing demand for remote office environments: As remote work gains prominence, employees operating from home may not receive the same level of protection from enterprise security devices as their on-site counterparts. Moreover, they might utilize devices that lack the latest updates and security patches, further compromising their security posture.

Given these challenges, deploying an effective EDR solution is paramount to fortify enterprise endpoints against network threats. EDR solutions offer advanced security measures, enabling proactive threat detection, incident investigation, and efficient response, thereby mitigating risks and ensuring robust endpoint security.

Operational Mechanism of EDR

While EDR systems differ among providers, they generally entail the following five steps:

Continuously gathers endpoint data

EDR solutions typically utilize lightweight data collection tools or agents installed on individual endpoints for data collection. These tools or agents gather a range of data, including login information, logs of running and creating processes, records of directory and file access, as well as DNS request details. The collected data is then stored in a centralized database or data lake, usually hosted on cloud infrastructure.

Real-time threat analysis and detection

The collected data from the data collection tools or agents is promptly compared and correlated with the vast threat database in real-time within the cloud environment. This process involves utilizing advanced technologies like intelligent detection algorithms, User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), and event correlation analysis to detect suspicious activities and identify both known threats and unknown or modified variants.

Reacts to threats automatically

By adhering to predefined rules established by the security team or leveraging continuous learning from machine learning algorithms, the EDR solution can autonomously execute the following actions:

1. Alert the security team about specific threats or suspicious activities.

2. Categorize and prioritize events based on their severity level.

3. Disconnect endpoints or unregister end users from the network.

4. Terminate system or endpoint processes.

5. Prevent endpoints from executing suspicious files or email attachments.

6. Initiate antivirus or anti-malware scans on other network endpoints to identify the same threat.

These automated responses enable security teams to promptly respond to events and threats, thereby minimizing potential network damages caused by such threats.

Conducts source tracing and thorough mitigation

Source tracing and forensic analysis assist security teams in uncovering the underlying causes of threats, identifying the specific files impacted by these threats, tracking how attackers exploit vulnerabilities to gain network access and obtain authentication credentials, and detecting any other malicious activities.

Armed with this information, security teams can conduct comprehensive remediation to address the threats, including:

1. Eradicating malicious files and removing them from endpoints.

2. Restoring damaged configurations, registry settings, data, and application files.

3. Implementing updates or patches to mitigate vulnerabilities.

4. Modifying detection rules to proactively prevent the recurrence of similar threats.

Facilitates proactive threat discovery and security strengthening

Threat hunting and security hardening are proactive measures taken to enhance security. Threat hunting involves the proactive search for unknown or undetected threats within a network, including those that may have evaded automated cybersecurity tools. This is essential because advanced threats often remain hidden, gathering system information and user credentials for potential large-scale intrusions, sometimes for months before detection.

Security hardening encompasses various actions such as disabling the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) service, password changes, enterprise security training, disabling file-sharing services, and configuring firewall policies. These measures are implemented to strengthen security defenses. Timely and effective threat hunting and security hardening practices can expedite threat detection and remediation, thereby minimizing or preventing damage caused by attacks.

Differences Between EDR and EPP

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) offers conventional endpoint security solutions, including antivirus, anti-malware, firewall, and online behavior management tools.

Both EDR and EPP address endpoint security concerns but with distinct focuses. An effective endpoint defense strategy requires the integration of EDR and EPP functionalities.

• EPP primarily concentrates on safeguarding endpoints against known threats or threats that operate in familiar patterns. However, EPP may not be capable of detecting or mitigating advanced threats that evade its detection mechanisms. Consequently, these threats can remain undetected within the network for extended periods, gathering data and identifying vulnerabilities to prepare for large-scale cyberattacks, zero-day exploits, or ransomware attacks.

• EDR complements the limitations of traditional endpoint security solutions like EPP. EDR provides capabilities for threat detection, analysis, and automated response, enabling the identification and containment of potential threats that breach network boundaries without manual intervention, thereby mitigating the risk of significant damage.

Differences Between EDR and XDR

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) is an emerging technology that is rapidly evolving to enhance endpoint threat detection and response capabilities.

Unlike EDR, which focuses solely on endpoint data, XDR encompasses a wide range of data sources beyond endpoints, such as networks, emails, applications, and cloud workloads.

To overcome the limitations of traditional isolated threat investigations, XDR integrates security tools across the organization's hybrid infrastructure, providing visibility into data across networks, clouds, endpoints, and applications. This comprehensive visibility enables a better understanding of the context, bringing previously undetectable events to the surface. As a result, security teams can swiftly respond and mitigate the impact, reducing the severity and scope of attacks.

How Can We Select a Suitable EDR Solution?

To select a suitable EDR solution, it's important to consider the following factors:

1. Terminal information visualization: Ensure that the EDR solution can automatically identify terminal information, provide real-time asset status detection, evaluate asset risks across the entire network, and trace historical dynamic IP addresses.

2. Comprehensive threat awareness: Choose an EDR solution that covers all data collection points and offers comprehensive detection methods. It should be capable of detecting abnormal behaviors in real time, providing attack visualization, and enabling traceability of attacks.

3. Accurate threat identification: Look for an EDR solution with a large threat database that is regularly updated in real time. It should leverage multiple technologies, such as intelligent detection algorithms, UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics), and event correlation analysis, to achieve high accuracy in identifying threats.

4. Quick response to threats: Select an EDR solution that enables rapid response to threats. It should have the capability to quickly contain attacks, such as automatically stopping or disconnecting the affected host from other hosts. Additionally, it should provide timely notifications to users to handle threats promptly for quick service restoration.

5. Implementation costs: Consider the costs associated with deploying and operating the EDR solution in your enterprise system. Evaluate whether an on-cloud or off-cloud solution is more suitable based on your specific requirements and budget.