EDR vs. EPP vs. MDR vs. XDR – Understanding The Basics

There seems to be a vendor solution for every digital threat the industry discovers. With so many options, picking what's suitable for your environment can feel daunting. Let's review the three most popular categories of endpoint protection to help you make the right choice!

SECURITY

Daniel Afkhami-Ardekani

5/8/20243 min read

Long are the days of traditional signature-based anti-virus detection, pop-up viruses, adware, and screen saver defacing. In the first nine months of 2021, there was an estimated 495 million ransomware attacks across the globe, which is a 148% spike from the previous year, according to the network security company SonicWall. The growing concern of not just the sophistication of the attacks but also the scale and accessibility in which they can be delivered. Over the last decade, new and old cybersecurity companies have seized the opportunity to introduce new security solutions to the market, promising to be the solution to your cybersecurity woes.

New technologies such as next-generation anti-virus (NGAV), Endpoint Detection, and Response (EDR), Managed Detection, and Response (MDR), Extended Detection, and Response, and Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP). The market has been flooded by dozens of similar technologies from multiple companies, creating confusion about what solution is best for your organization. In this article, I will help break down the four most popular security solutions to help eliminate any confusion you may have.

What is EDR?
EDR stands for Endpoint Detection, and Response and is a local endpoint agent that resides on your devices, such as a laptop, desktop, or server. EDR is not your first line of defense and is generally a part of a layered security approach, with some form of anti-virus being the front door. EDR is an autonomous threat-hunting tool that provides 24/7 continuous monitoring and data analysis looking for abnormal activity. Out of the box, EDR generally comes with default remediation and quarantine playbooks, but most, if not all, rely on custom playbooks or exception rules to build context, reduce false positives, and increase accuracy.

Pros:

  • Provides continuous threat monitoring and data aggregation

  • Use behavior analysis to identify abnormal behavior and trigger built-in and custom response playbooks

  • historically, it will pick up 90-95 percent of malware that bypasses AV.

Cons:

  • Generally, it is only designed for traditional endpoints such as desktops, laptops, and servers.

  • It requires a cybersecurity professional to maintain it.

  • EDR-specific solutions rely heavily on playbooks to respond to incidents, whereas EPP and XDR solutions have automated responses for quarantining and remediating malware.

  • EDR cannot block malware from infecting an endpoint; it's a reactive tool.


What is EPP?
Endpoint Protection Platform, or EPP, is a comprehensive security platform comprising various security solutions. EPP is a modern all-in-one security solution that allows security teams to consolidate resources. More modern solutions from providers such as SentinelOne and Crowdstrike will typically include next-gen AV, EDR, sandbox detention, threat analysis, threat hunting, data aggregation, asset inventory, AI, and more.

Pros:

  • All-in-one endpoint security solution.

  • Generally, it provides machine learning to build context automatically and provide accurate cause and effect correlation.

  • Feature-rich with granular customization.

Cons:

  • EPP is a complex tool that requires dedicated admin or personnel.

  • Generally, EPP is an expensive solution and can quickly price out small and mid-sized companies.


What is MDR?
MDR stands for Managed Detection and response and is an added human component to EDR, EPP, and XDR. MDR is generally an add-on service to complement EDR and XDR products with a team of security analysts who provide 24/7 support, monitoring, and response. The analysts will handle all security incident triaging as part of their contract. Many security vendors offer endpoint security solutions and security teams, but many companies will provide the service and integrate with dozens of different technologies.

Pros:

  • Full-service security operation center with certified professionals triaging security events in your environment.

  • Generally, 24/7 is standard.

  • Increases end-user efficiency by eliminating the need to respond to event notifications.

Cons:

  • The quality and technical skills of the SOC can sometimes be undesirable.

  • SOC analysts usually cannot contextualize an event, which leads to an abundance of false positives (The security solution involved is also a variable).


What is XDR?
XDR stands for Extended Detection and Response tool, which provides 24/7 threat detection and response, and natively integrates with various security products. XDR provides visibility, telemetry, and analysis of an organization's infrastructure. XDR has all the same functionality as an EDR and EPP but can integrate with other tools and infrastructure in your corporate tech stack. Additionally, most XDR vendors can integrate into containers and cloud workloads with traditional endpoints.

Pros:

  • Consolidates data from multiple silos into one and correlates data to relevant locations and events.

  • Can integrate with multiple 3rd party security tools and services.

  • Increase visibility across corporate infrastructure (i.e., containers, cloud services, etc.)

Cons:

  • Increased visibility means more data analysis so employees will need additional training.

  • It provides an additional layer to the stack to monitor that will need to be maintained.

  • Generally, more expensive than other endpoint security products like EDR and EPP.

It’s important to remember that when deciding on a solution, one size does not fit all, and not all the best or innovative solutions are right for you. Be diligent in your research and choose the solution that is the right blend of cost, performance, and sustainability.