By: Chuck Wiley, IT Director, Snap Tech IT 

As we find much of our workforce working remotely, it has underscored the necessity of protecting business data from an exponentially larger volume of cyber threats. How do you keep pace with the barrage of threats that hit your IT environment on a daily basis?  

Understanding Managed Detection & Response 

According to Gartner, managed detection and response (MDR) providers offer services to businesses that aim to improve the way they detect threats, respond to incidents, and monitor their IT assets continuously. As a basic definition of MDR, that works. However, there’s much more to MDR that you’ll benefit from than just detection, response & monitoring. 

Access to a Team of Security Professionals

Managed detection and response service providers allow you to gain a team of experts at a price you can afford. For companies who don’t have the time or resources, this is especially useful. In addition, some of the tools used by these providers are too expensive to buy on your own and may not be easily found or readily available. Depending on your provider, you could even get customized implementations to cater to your specific cybersecurity needs.

You Can See What Anti–Virus Has Missed

By and large, most businesses are not comfortable eliminating their anti–virus product completely. More often than not, businesses will leverage Managed Detection and Response (MDR) security services to identify just how much their current anti-virus has missed and what the nature of the threats are. You’ll have the ability to detect and prevent hidden exploit processes that are more complex and evade traditional antivirus.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Choose wisely when it comes to selecting the MDR solutions that meet the unique needs of your business, including the number of users, and security controls in place, and align with your overall operational objectives.

You Need 24/7 Coverage But Resources Are A Challenge

It’s not an easy feat to staff a security operations center (SOC) with appropriately skilled individuals, plus institute staffing around the clock. The cybersecurity skills shortage is one of the trends we can expect to see in 2021. You may have a team that is dedicated to your IT department, but they are also helping to support your business. CyberDefense Detect solutions can take that off your plate by operating your SOC 24/7/365.

A recent study from (ISC)2 claimed the global security workforce needs to increase by a staggering 145% to cope with a surge in hiring demand. In Europe, this has come particularly in smaller companies with one-99 employees, as well as those with over 500 employees.

Sure You Need Threat Detection, But Do You Need a SIEM?

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and SIEM are different solutions but they are complementary to each other and work well in tandem, especially in a managed solution –our CyberDefense Detect solutions use both. A SIEM that is performing at peak performance should outperform MDR in detection. Detection is the key to SIEM. It’s also incredibly important to have a team to help respond to any problem detected. A SIEM can be deemed pointless if it is only noise, and you aren’t able to respond to any potential threats. An MDR should outperform a SIEM in prevention. MDR is designed for endpoint prevention and analysis. But both MDR and SIEM require staff training, tuning, and maintenance. Rather than either/or, consider both – MDR and SIEM with a multi-layered approach to protecting networks, servers, and endpoints with CyberDefense Detect.

Cyber-Attacks Are Costly, Prevention Is Not in Comparison

Once the ransomware is installed on your system, it locks down your files. Regaining access to the files can be a nightmare because you need the password or decryption key the attacker supplies when you pay the ransom. There’s an ample “If” in that statement because often the attacker doesn’t supply either. Ransomware is a lucrative, relatively easy mode of attack for cybercriminals. Prevention in the form of Managed Detection and Response services is significantly less than the cost of dealing with a ransomware attack.

Harnessing great threat intelligence, the right way ensures rapid detection of known malicious activity on your network that slips past traditional perimeter defenses – and it’s where Snap Tech IT’s MDR solution truly shines. Armed with familiarity with your network, we’ll manage your MDR solution with the expertise you need. 

To learn more about MDR, powered by Snap Tech IT CyberDefense, read our Solutions Brief.