How MSPs can improve threat detection and response with XDR

According to a Barracuda report, 62 percent of IT professionals surveyed believe cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and complex. This concern is mainly because traditional security measures often fail to address multifaceted threats in today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.

Furthermore, adversaries are becoming more advanced and motivated than ever. We have geopolitically motivated nation-state actors and cybercriminals like Evil Corp, which are motivated by profit. Hacktivists like DarkSide are ideologically motivated and represent a unique threat. Additionally, terrorist organizations, thrill seekers, and insider threats also seek to cause harm.

Their objectives are clear: to access and exploit your data for various reasons, including encrypting data for ransomware, exfiltrating this information for further profit, or causing operational downtime to organizations.

Businesses face a growing threat from ransomware

Ransomware is undoubtedly top of mind for security-minded managed service providers (MSPs). According to a 2023 Corvus Insurance Q3 Report, ransomware attacks have increased 95 percent since 2022. Furthermore, Cybersecurity Ventures predicted in 2023 that by 2031, ransomware will cost victims $265 billion annually, and it will attack a business, consumer, or device every 2 seconds. 

That said, the speed at which an MSP can respond to a security incident can be the critical difference between a quick recovery and catastrophic losses. According to the IBM Data Breach Action Guide, it took organizations an average of 277 days to identify and contain a breach: 207 days to identify and 70 days to contain.

Protecting data, applications, and devices is challenging

This evolving threat landscape is making it more difficult to secure data, applications, and devices. 

Data security: Data is the lifeblood of modern organizations, making data protection a top priority. However, protecting high volumes of data spread across various formats and storage solutions is challenging. Compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA imposes stringent requirements on data handling and security. This adds a layer of complexity for organizations striving to meet these standards. Ensuring data is encrypted in transit, at rest, and protected from insider threats can also be challenging.

Application security: Applications are a frequent target for cyberattacks because they often contain vulnerabilities due to coding errors, outdated libraries, or improper configurations. Modern applications frequently integrate with other systems, thus increasing the attack surface and making it harder to secure all components. Keeping applications updated with the latest security patches is crucial but can be difficult, particularly in environments with numerous applications or legacy systems. In addition, web applications and APIs are common attack vectors. Securing these components requires continuous monitoring and protection against threats.

Device security: Devices—from traditional desktops and laptops to mobile devices and IoT devices—each with different operating systems and configurations often complicate the implementation of a uniform security policy. Ensuring all devices are properly managed and secured, particularly in a BYOD (bring your own device) environment, can also be challenging. Furthermore, mobile devices and laptops are prone to loss or theft, potentially exposing sensitive information if not properly secured. 

These complexities and challenges highlight the importance of XDR. MSPs should prioritize it at the forefront of their advanced security stack.

XDR: A game-changing approach to protecting the business

Extended detection and response (XDR) is a transformative technology that offers a more integrated and comprehensive approach to security. It enables MSPs to respond to threats more effectively and efficiently.

With XDR, MSPs can significantly enhance their threat detection and response capabilities. It integrates multiple security products into a unified platform, providing comprehensive visibility, advanced threat detection, and automated response across an organization’s IT environment.

Furthermore, automated threat response analyzes normal login behaviors and applies threat intelligence. It recognizes a malicious login attempt and classifies it as “malicious.” The system disables the user account and notifies the customer. It can quickly identify the threat and act without your customers worrying about mitigating these threats. The system blocks attacks as soon as they occur, cutting response time by 99 percent.

In addition to reduced response times, XDR: 

• It improves threat detection and prevention using advanced analytics and machine learning. This technology can identify anomalous behavior that might indicate an attack, such as lateral movement or data exfiltration.
• Enhances threat intelligence feeds with emerging threats, allowing organizations to defend against the latest attack techniques proactively. 
• Enhances visibility across environments by consolidating telemetry data from endpoints, networks, servers, cloud environments, and applications into a single platform, providing a holistic view of the entire IT environment and correlating events and alerts across multiple security layers.
• Supports hybrid and multi-cloud security with consistent security policies and monitoring across on-premises, cloud, and multi-cloud environments, ensuring comprehensive protection regardless of where data and applications reside.
• It provides better visibility into shadow IT and IoT by identifying and monitoring shadow IT assets and IoT devices. This increased visibility offers greater control and reduces potential attack surfaces.
• Improves and simplifies regulatory compliance by helping organizations protect sensitive data, comply with regulatory requirements, and automate compliance report generation to maintain audit trails.
• Streamlines operations and reduces alert fatigue with a single pane of glass while prioritizing alerts from different sources. 

Overall, XDR is a powerful solution MSPs can leverage to address the complexities of securing data, applications, and devices in a dynamic threat environment. XDR streamlines and accelerates threat response while offering improved visibility and comprehensive protection across various environments. This enables MSPs and the organizations they serve to stay ahead of threats, minimize risks, and maintain a strong security posture.

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