Demystifying Modern MDR: Your Ultimate Guide To Managed Detection and Response

Cyberattacks have evolved over the years. The shift to working from home, the threat from nation-states and cybercriminals, the expanded attack surface, cryptocurrency as a payment method, and the abundance of data collected across every industry have all factored into the current cybersecurity landscape. Today’s cyberattackers are using sophisticated assaults with greater frequency, and no organization is immune from a possible attack. Organizations face attacks from malware, ransomware, business email compromise, phishing, and more.

To defend against cyberattackers, organizations may consider a variety of security solutions including security information and event management (SIEM), managed security service providers (MSSP), extended detection and response (XDR), and MDR:

• SIEM collects log data and forwards the data to a centralized management and analysis system. It stores the data for posterity, correlates data, and provides alerts, but because it’s technology only, it’s outdated as a solution.
• MSSP provide alerts and manage firewalls and devices designed to keep attackers out at the perimeter. It involves technology, people, and some processes, but it’s not designed to compete with today’s sophisticated cyberattackers. Over time, MSSP has become an “alert factory” with alerts being provided to internal security teams, with no additional support with investigation or response.
• XDR delivers detection and response by connecting network, log, and endpoint visibility. However, the platform can be complicated to deploy and requires considerable time and energy to configure and operate. The customer remains on the hook to find capable talent and build processes.
• MDR began as a service to investigate alerts and incidents to better support internal teams with limited response capabilities. Modern MDR combines advanced technology and experienced security professionals to combat today’s threat environment and provide closed-loop incident response. Security professionals perform full scope analysis of networks, endpoints, logs, and cloud environments and proactively respond to threats. The best MDR is a modern one with a complete tool set, experts available to leverage it, and a close partnership with your team to investigate and respond to incidents.

Once a threat is identified in the cyber landscape, every minute counts. Modern MDR providers like Pondurance help your organization immediately respond to the cyber threat to minimize damage and reduce recovery time and costs. After all, the longer a cyberattacker dwells in your network, the more potential damage the attacker can cause.

Pondurance rapidly takes action against an attack with predefined parameters and a 24/7 team of incident responders, incident handlers, and forensic and malware specialists who can coordinate a full incident response from the moment the threat is identified. We combine our industry-leading MDR services with our experienced team to provide:

• Identification – Identify and detect an incident as soon as possible
• Containment – Stop the incident and reduce the impact
• Eradication – Eliminate the threat and prevent recurrence
• Recovery – Return to normal operations and conduct a post-breach investigation

Not only can Pondurance stop the incident, but we also can compile detailed forensic reports to document what happened and openly communicate with your insurance providers and attorneys:

• Insurance brokers and carriers – Pondurance works as a go-to provider for digital forensics and incident response engagements. We specialize in building pre-incident relationships to facilitate a rapid, on-target response and reduce the cost of incidents.
• Attorneys – Pondurance partners with leading law firms and in-house attorneys who specialize in cybersecurity and privacy matters. We support the highest level of confidentiality and operational security regarding all matters.

Your organization is unique, with its own compliance requirements, staffing challenges, and security policies and procedures. Modern MDR providers need to allow for flexibility in their solutions and the ability to adapt and meet your changing needs. Pondurance understands that no one cybersecurity package fits every business, so we consult with you and customize our services to your organization’s specific industry and operational needs and integrate any security tools that your organization has in place.

We meet you where you are in your cybersecurity journey. Then, as your cybersecurity needs mature over time, our services adapt to continue keeping you safe from an attack and in compliance.

As part of our customized solutions, we offer comprehensive reporting and risk assessment:

• Reporting. Security reporting is important for compliance, but heavily regulated industries are not the only ones that can benefit from comprehensive reporting. Most organizations perform more efficiently with the proper handling of incident logs and alerts. Pondurance’s experts provide custom logging and reporting — with fine-grained visibility and alerting for all relevant systems including networks, endpoints, and the cloud — to precisely document processes and cybersecurity incidents as they happen.
• Risk assessment. To stay protected against attack, your organization needs to know its cybersecurity posture. Performing periodic risk assessments is a great way to identify the areas where you are at risk and know the full extent of your vulnerabilities. A risk assessment can ensure that you’re properly allocating your cybersecurity resources and have a thorough incident response plan in place. Pondurance can conduct a risk assessment to uncover your security weaknesses and build a solid solution to defend your organization against future cyber threats.