Contents:
Improving your company’s cybersecurity is key. That’s why knowing the differences between XDR vs. EDR is important.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the differences between XDR and EDR;
- Choose the right solution for your business;
- Explore XDR and EDR in Heimdal® Suite.
XDR vs. EDR
In this detailed analysis of XDR vs. EDR, I will explain how each technology functions, comparing their strengths and weaknesses, to help you make an informed decision.
Differences and Benefits
How are they different, and what benefits they can bring to the table:
Legacy Security and XDR
Traditional security methods like antivirus software and firewalls sometimes fail against modern cyber threats. XDR addresses this by offering a unified view of threats, while EDR focuses on individual endpoints.
You may recall that as threats become more complex, the need for a more comprehensive strategy arose. In response, XDR was created, which spans the gap between several security tools and offers a single view of the threat landscape.
According to Gartner, XDR is “a comprehensive, cloud-native, and analytics-driven security offering that combines multiple security products.” Whilst that is true, my view is that to benefit and leverage XDR, you need those tools to be well integrated, which is not really what the Gartner definition says.
Also, the definition is quite vague, because typically those tools are mainly reactive, whereas (and incoming advertisement alert), the Heimdal stack is heavily focused on having a proactive, predictive security posture stopping threats before they come in, which no one else really offers.
Morten Kjaersgaard, Heimdal’s CEO
Integration and Consolidation
XDR integrates data from different security areas. It uses analytics and machine learning to detect hidden threats. This integration improves threat detection and response, making XDR more effective than EDR.
A Forrester report predicts that “by 2024, 50% of enterprises will have begun to consolidate their standalone security products, including EDR, NDR, and UEBA, into comprehensive XDR platforms.” This really supports my firm belief that the market will be evolving, but there are many different views on the matter.
One thing I would stress though to IT managers, CIOs, and general managers, is to make sure they get the necessary visibility of the risk, and to ensure the necessary actionability of threats.
Morten Kjaersgaard, Heimdal’s CEO
Advanced Analytics and AI
XDR uses AI and machine learning to analyze security data. This helps in detecting threats early. XDR’s AI integration is stronger than EDR’s, reducing the workload on security teams.
In your role as an IT manager, CIO, or CISO, you should continue to think about actionability and proactive risk mitigation rather than reactive risk mitigation.
Cloud-Native XDR
Cloud-native security solutions are essential as more businesses use cloud computing and hybrid/ multi-cloud systems.
As opposed to EDR systems, which by their very nature are endpoint products, cloud-native XDR expands the capabilities of existing XDR platforms to cover cloud workloads, apps, and infrastructure within the evolving security architecture.
External MDR / SOC / MXDR
The unified nature of a comprehensive XDR platform offers one more and last benefit, making it simpler for you to decide whether to internally or externally monitor the platform.
Given that XDR is only a technology and not a guarantee of accurate threat visualization, you must ensure that what you purchase also offers that.
Heimdal connects this to Threat-hunting and Action Center, the gold standard of straightforward cyber security management. You can also decide whether to monitor and act on the XDR discoveries yourself or to outsource them.
Choosing the Best Endpoint Solution
Every company’s security needs are different. Here are a few guidelines to consider while deciding between the best XDR solution and an EDR one:
Choose XDR if:
- You want better threat detection and response;
- You’re looking for faster response times;
- You want better ROI on security products.
Choose EDR if:
- You are starting to build a cybersecurity strategy;
- You want to strengthen endpoint security;
- Your team can handle alerts and suggestions generated by the EDR solution.
XDR and EDR in the Heimdal® Suite
Our XDR solution offers proactive threat intelligence and covers your entire security setup. It integrates from endpoints to networks, into a unified platform that’s both efficient and user-friendly. This ensures real-time detection, analysis, and response to sophisticated threats across your entire security architecture.
Heimdal’s EDR combines six solutions in one. It’s efficient and won’t slow down your systems. Our customers, like NRGi, appreciate its all-in-one protection.
What I like about Heimdal’s EDR product suite is that it offers all-in-one endpoint protection. By using it, I eliminated the need for any additional tools to protect company endpoints.
Heimdal is a completely unified solution that I am very happy with. In terms of how Heimdal improved our operations, if I take a look at my own department, namely IT, I can see that our team’s efficiency was considerably enhanced since we started using Heimdal.
Michael Warrer, Group CIO, NRGi
Our EDR software can prevent advanced ransomware, insider threats, admin rights abuse, APTs, software exploits, brute force attacks, and any other known or unknown threats by leveraging the benefits of Machine Learning and AI-driven intelligence.
As we wrap up our discussion, it’s essential to circle back to the foundation of Endpoint Security.
What Is XDR?
The abbreviation refers to a multi-layered detection and response platform. This technology captures and analyzes data across multiple environments – endpoints, emails, servers, clouds, and networks – to enable proactive threat detection.
As cyber security expert Joseph Shenouda mentions,
With EDR, you’ve taken end-point security seriously. Continued with XDR, you’ve now enlarged your vision to network activity as well. The goal ultimately is to respond automatically to identified threats.
What Is EDR?
Endpoint Detection and Response refers to a set of unified endpoint security solutions. Its purpose is to detect and prevent potential security breaches in real-time.
EDR platforms were designed to identify and actively respond to malware and cyber attacks on endpoints. Anton Chuvakin, a former Gartner VP and security expert, introduced the acronym EDR in 2013.
- End-to-end consolidated cybersecurity;
- Complete visibility across your entire IT infrastructure;
- Faster and more accurate threat detection and response;
- Efficient one-click automated and assisted actioning
Final Thoughts
XDR means taking things one step further and having much-needed visibility into all your attack surfaces. This way, when EDR starts to fade out, and XDR will be by far the fastest-growing market, you will have a big advantage.
With over three years as a SOC Team Lead in the Heimdal MXDR department, Adelina is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and insights through her writing. Her articles and publications provide invaluable guidance on emerging trends, best practices, and effective strategies to combat cyber threats.
