EDR vs XDR: The Key Differences
XDR, on the other hand, is much newer than EDR, and builds upon its foundations by extending beyond just endpoints. It integrates data from multiple security layers – including email, network, cloud, and endpoints – providing a more comprehensive view of an organization’s security posture. Alongside this, a single-pane-of-glass approach helps unify your organization’s responses, allowing security teams to address threats across the entire IT ecosystem rather than in isolation. This article will address the key differences between modern EDR and XDR solutions – and whether the newer XDR is worth the price.
Gartner XDR Market Guide
XDR is an evolving technology that can offer unified threat prevention, detection and response capabilities for security operations teams.
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What is EDR?
EDR solutions take an approach that prioritizes endpoint protection within enterprise threats. This is achieved in a multi-faceted way – first by monitoring and collecting data from endpoints, and then analyzing this data to detect patterns indicative of attack, and sending relevant alerts to the security team.
The first step involves telemetry ingestion. By installing agents on each endpoint, the individual usage patterns of every device are registered and collected. The hundreds of different security-related events collected include registry modifications, memory access, and network connections. This is then sent to the central EDR platform for continuous file analysis. Whether on-premises or cloud-based, the core EDR tool examines each file that interacts with the endpoint. If a sequence of file actions matches a pre-recognized indicator of attack, the EDR tool will classify the activity as suspicious and automatically send an alert. By bringing suspicious activity and pushing alerts to the relevant security analyst, it becomes possible to identify and prevent attacks with far greater efficiency. Modern EDRs can also initiate automated responses according to predetermined triggers. For example, temporarily isolating an endpoint to block malware from spreading across the network.
What is XDR?
While EDR prioritizes endpoints, XDR can be seen as an evolution thereof. EDR systems, while valuable, come with notable drawbacks that can challenge resource-strapped organizations. Implementing and maintaining an EDR system demands significant investments in terms of time, finances, and bandwidth, not to mention the need for a skilled workforce to effectively manage it. As applications are accessed by a more distributed workforce that uses a new array of devices, device types, and access locations, more visibility gaps are occurring, further complicating the detection of advanced threats. XDR is a solution that shifts the perspective of your security team from blinkered alert-chasers to context-fueled threat hunters.
XDR is so revolutionary thanks to its ability to integrate threat data from previously isolated security tools – such as EDR – across an organization’s entire technology infrastructure. This integration facilitates swifter and more efficient investigation, threat hunting, and response capabilities. An XDR platform is capable of gathering security telemetry from a variety of sources, including endpoints, cloud workloads, networks, and email systems. One of the key advantages provided by XDR is its ability to provide contextual insights. By analyzing data across different layers of the IT environment, XDR helps security teams gain a deeper understanding of the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by attackers. This context-rich intelligence allows for more informed and effective responses to security threats.
Furthermore, its extended detection significantly reduces the time that analysts spend on manual investigation of threats. It achieves this by correlating alerts, which streamlines notifications and cuts down on the volume of alerts in analysts’ inboxes. This not only reduces noise but also increases the efficiency of the response process. By collating related alerts, an XDR solution offers a more comprehensive view of security incidents, enhancing the overall efficiency of cybersecurity teams and improving the security posture of the organization. The key to XDR’s impressive suite of offerings is in its implementation with your current security framework – see our guide for a deep dive into successful XDR implementation.
XDR vs EDR
In contrast, XDR better reflects the resource realities facing modern organizations. It integrates data and insights from a broader range of sources, including not just endpoints, but also network traffic, cloud environments, and email systems. This holistic perspective enables XDR to detect more complex, multi-vector attacks that might bypass traditional endpoint-only security measures.
While EDR is fairly resource-demanding, XDR solutions aim to ease some of the administrative burden on security teams by offering a unified view of threats across the entire IT infrastructure. This facilitates a more coordinated and comprehensive response. By correlating data across different domains, XDR provides deeper context and enhanced detection capabilities, making it a more suitable option for organizations looking to implement an integrated security strategy.
The XDR vs EDR comparison table below details the 10 key differences between the two solutions. Keeping these differences in mind can be vital to distinguishing which solution presents the best option for your own use case.
|
EDR |
XDR |
|
|
Primary Focus |
Identifying endpoint-based threats. |
Integrating cross-channel threat detection. |
|
Data Sources |
Endpoint device data – including file activity, process execution, and registry changes. |
From cloud access logs to email inboxes, data is collected from endpoints, network, cloud, and communication channels. |
|
Threat Detection |
Based on endpoint behavior that matches pre-established indicators of attack. |
Correlates data across multiple layers of the IT environment for more accurate behavioral analytics. |
|
Response Capabilities |
Automatically isolates affected endpoints from the network; auto-deploys agents to infected endpoints. |
Takes immediate and contextualized action, such as snapshots of business-critical data at early signs of a ransomware attack. |
|
Analytics and Reporting |
Streamlines data investigation with techniques such as data retention and maps malicious events with the MITRE ATT&CK framework. |
Flags unusual behavior, enriched with threat intelligence feeds, to create prioritized and actionable reports. |
|
Visibility |
High visibility into endpoint activities. |
Broad visibility across different IT components. |
|
Complexity |
Generally less complex, focused on endpoints. |
More complex due to the integration of various data sources. Requires streamlining of data ingestion across stakeholders, APIs, and policies. |
|
Integration with Other Tools |
Limited to endpoint-oriented tools. |
High integration with a wide range of security tools. |
|
Use Case |
Ideal for organizations focusing solely on endpoint security. |
Suited for organizations seeking a holistic security approach. |
|
Incident Investigation |
Deep investigation at the endpoint level. |
Broad investigation capabilities across the security ecosystem. |
EDR Pros
Better than Antivirus
Its automated investigation and response capabilities can also be used by a forensic team to determine the extent of a previous attack. This detailed insight into the nature and trajectory of an attack enables more effective remediation strategies. This includes the ability to isolate infected endpoints, roll back systems to their pre-infection state.
Integrates with SIEM
Can Guarantee Insurance Compliance
EDR Cons
#1. High False Positives
#2. High Resource Demands
EDR solutions also require continuous management and regular updates to remain effective against evolving cyber threats. This involves not just software updates, but also adapting the system’s configurations and parameters to match the changing threat landscape and organizational IT changes. With remote and BYOD policies becoming increasingly ingrained, it’s never been more challenging to keep EDR up to speed.
#3. Seconds Too Slow
The current EDR frameworks predominantly rely on cloud connectivity, which introduces a delay in protecting endpoints. This lag, or dwell time, can be critical. In the fast-paced realm of cybersecurity, even a brief delay can have severe consequences. Malicious attacks can infiltrate systems, pilfer or encrypt data, and erase their tracks in mere seconds.
XDR Pros
#1. Comprehensive Coverage
#2. Advanced Threat Detection - and Investigation
To enhance the effectiveness of analysis, XDR security solutions now incorporate artificial intelligence (AI). This AI is trained to autonomously investigate alerts, capable of contextualizing a potential incident, conducting a comprehensive investigation, identifying the nature and extent of the incident, and providing detailed insights to expedite the response process. Unlike human investigators, whose availability is limited, a well-trained AI system can perform these functions in mere seconds and can be scaled more easily and cost-effectively.
XDR Cons
#1. Potential Over-Reliance on One Vendor
Therefore, the overall value of an XDR solution may depend heavily on the advancements and integration capabilities of other vendors’ technologies, posing a risk of incomplete security coverage if a vendor’s solutions are not comprehensive.
Bring Your Own EDR
XDR is more than a product – it’s a strategy that aims to maximize the cybersecurity resources already at your disposal. Stellar Cyber’s Open XDR removes the vendor lock-in that limits this strategy and supports your enterprise in achieving deeply-customized XDR protection – without asking you to start from scratch. Bring your own EDR to Stellar’s OpenXDR, and benefit from over 400 out-of-the-box integrations, allowing your pre-existing visibility to be buffed with application log data, cloud, and network telemetry – with no manual actions required. Find out more about how Stellar Cyber’s XDR can support next-gen SecOps today.