Empowering Enterprise Security: The Rise of MDR in Today's Threat Landscape
Global enterprises of all shapes and sizes are taking proactive measures to identify emerging cyber threats and implement robust monitoring systems for protection against cyber-attacks. However, acquiring the right talent to form capable cybersecurity teams poses a significant challenge. Without the right talent, enterprises risk overlooking critical alerts, identifying anomalies, and missing suspicious traffic within their IT ecosystem. It is important to note that traditional Managed Security Services Providers (MSSPs) typically emphasize monitoring and alerts, which only offer a partial view and often generate a high volume of false positives and low-value work.
Notably, an increasing number of enterprises are transitioning from traditional MSSPs to new-age Managed Detection and Response (MDR) providers. According to Gartner, by 2025, about 60 percent of organizations are expected to adopt remote capabilities around security threats and containment delivered by MDR providers, a significant increase from the current estimate of around 30 percent in 2023. That said, it is critical to be aware that while many boutique providers claim to offer MDR services, they often have limited capabilities and lack robust telemetry support. These providers rarely prioritize addressing challenges such as alert fatigue, swivel chair problems, proactive threat hunting, and full automation of incident response.
Enterprises need to prioritize MDR service providers who offer enhanced value and service beyond simply adding more screens to their operations. At Zensar, we have crafted a matured and robust MDR framework that can be tailored to meet the specific standards of each enterprise. Our MDR services are continuously evolving with a strong focus on the following minimum requirements to minimize and avoid business disruption:
Enhancing incident response efficiency: Effective incident investigation and hunting are crucial aspects of a robust security operations center (SOC). SOC serves as the eyes and ears of the enterprise, raising alerts and swiftly responding to any detected suspicious activity. MDR services can address larger security challenges when utilized correctly, combining the power of artificial intelligence with human intelligence. By providing contextual information to SOC, incorporating threat intelligence, and leveraging meaningful data, SOC engineers can conduct in-depth investigations, perform advanced analysis, and remediate issues using standardized response processes. The insights gained from these investigations should then be communicated to the device management team, enabling them to fine-tune rules, policies, and logic to reduce false positives.
Enhance threat intelligence: MDR plays a crucial role in effectively detecting and responding to cyber-attacks, providing valuable contextual information about each incident. Furthermore, MDR aids in identifying indicators of compromise (IOC), indicators of attack (IOA), and other critical factors, ultimately minimizing the impact on business operations.
Mitigate and prevent damage: MDR services should be able to continuously monitor the network 24x7, effectively detecting and containing incidents to prevent any additional damage. Moreover, the SOC team should be equipped to respond to incidents without relying on customer assistance. Embracing both reactive and proactive hunting should be ingrained in daily operations, enabling the improvement of playbooks and the development of new use cases.
Tailored use cases for specific industries: MDR providers should be able to deliver industry-specific use cases that align with vertical and business objectives. Instead of relying solely on traditional log-based approaches, these use cases should be mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework for more comprehensive and effective threat detection and response.
Efficient log management: The SOC should have the flexibility to optimize log size through compression and filtering techniques. Not all fields in Windows logs may be relevant, so allowing to compress or filter logs selectively enables streamlined data management and improves analysis efficiency.
Embrace proactive automation: Shifting left and automating the incident process is crucial for the timely response to an incident. By leveraging AI-based tools such as ChatGPT in incident response, enterprises can expedite the analyses, investigation, and response to incidents, enabling faster and more efficient incident management.
Enhancing enterprise security with MDR
There is no question that Managed Detection and Response has emerged as a game-changer for enterprise security in today's evolving threat landscape. It plays a vital role in safeguarding enterprises against various threats and ensures compliance with regulations such as GDPR, ISO27001, PCI DSS, and more. Above all, MDR is an invaluable asset that enhances and strengthens the overall security posture of any organization.
By prioritizing MDR and partnering with proven partners, enterprises can significantly strengthen their security posture, minimize disruptions, and effectively respond to cyber threats. With MDR as a cornerstone of their cybersecurity strategy, organizations can stay one step ahead of attackers and protect their critical assets.
