Achieving Seamless Security with Managed XDR

A previous post charted the long evolution toward Extended Detection and Response (XDR) as a modern set of tools that transform an organization’s threat detection and prevention capabilities. But while XDR can effectively deliver extended visibility, analysis and response across all endpoints, workloads, users and networks, XDR is not a plug and play solution. A fair amount of customization and continuous upkeep is required for XDR to run optimally on enterprise systems to protect against cyber threats.

The fact that XDR solutions aren’t exactly turnkey is why more organizations are turning to partners for Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) implementations. MXDR is a way to deploy XDR with the support of a trusted IT partner for the integration and ongoing configuration adjustments required to get the most out of the XDR investment.

Why MXDR is Necessary
The truth is that you can’t simply buy an XDR solution, turn it on and expect it to work perfectly in your enterprise IT systems; continuous integration and configuration adjustments are needed. You need to know how to configure different technologies with XDR, format logs, and add new integrations over time. These technical challenges go beyond steps like setting an API key or other basic tasks that the casual IT admin or business user could handle.

Some XDR integration challenges can be very complex. Maybe there is an older payroll system that requires custom code before it can integrate with the XDR deployment to protect those endpoints. Or perhaps a poorly configured XDR platform is delivering too many false positives, which creates noise that obfuscates the real and most critical threats hidden within the static.

There’s also the enduring challenge of scale. As the organization grows, the number of system users may grow as well. That triggers multiple to-dos for IT provisioning, hardware and software configuration, data availability and other factors. The bottom line is that most organizations don’t have the IT management or engineering teams required to perform these ongoing curation tasks of the XDR environment.

MXDR Accelerates Speed and Detection of Response
Avoiding the headaches above is why many firms turn to an IT partner for a managed XDR deployment, or MXDR. MXDR dynamically adapts as the business grows and the threat landscape evolves – with seasoned IT professionals making constant adjustments to monitor threats and add protections to safeguard systems from incoming attack.

A good MXDR partner for financial firms has the IT acumen to make ongoing technical adjustments, while also possessing a strong grasp of the MITRE Attack Framework and other threat intelligence models to parse the threat landscape and isolate the malicious attacks that are most threatening to the sector or a particular financial firm.

The MXDR team can train AI/ML tools for automated alert management that quickly isolates the most important threats and eliminates false positives, duplicative alerts and other noise. Some organizations have taken things a step further by adding a SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response) component to MXDR. This allows firms to automate certain aspects of SOC response – such as isolating an endpoint, creating a DNS sinkhole or blacklisting an attacker’s IP address on the perimeter firewall. 

All these combined capabilities we’re discussing are at the heart of what makes MXDR so valuable in helping security become more seamless: Too many detection rules can slow down systems, so an MXDR deployment will allow the organization to focus efforts on the most relevant threats. Ultimately, the key to MXDR’s value is its ongoing and iterative ability to continually optimize the XDR platform for maximum endpoint detection and prevention capabilities.