Managed detection and response (MDR) is a critical cybersecurity service that provides organizations with experts charged with monitoring their networks, cloud environment, and endpoints. These experts can then detect and respond to cyberthreats 24/7. Using technology tools, proven processes, and expertise, MDR providers help you reduce your cybersecurity risk profile, improve the effectiveness of your security framework, stop attacks, and respond if an incident occurs.
Once thought of as essential only for large, or enterprise-level level, companies, managed detection and response is now seen as a necessity for businesses of every size due to the hostile and ever-developing digital landscape. For example, a 2022 report noted that cyberattacks from hacker groups have increased a whopping 600% since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 alone, an incredible 667 million new malware detections were discovered worldwide.
Increasingly, those attacks are centered on small and mid-sized businesses. Such organizations have fewer resources at their disposal or lack the insight and tools needed for top-notch security expertise. It leaves SMBs as ‘easier’ targets for cybercrime; the cost of a compromised account or data breach is crippling to such organizations.
Investing in a managed detection and response program is a sure way to increase your company’s resilience. But what does that look like and what should you expect from a quality partner? Let’s dive in.
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The Features of Managed Detection and Response
When businesses add MDR services, they gain capabilities that strengthen their ability to respond to cybersecurity threats. Some of the universal features provided by MDR programs include:
- Incident Investigation — With MDR you’ll have a team and system in place to look into any alerts and determine whether they constitute a real threat or a false positive through the use of data analytics, new technology, and human insight.
- Triage — Not every incident should be treated equally and there are a number of factors that impact the priority of different events. With an MDR partner, there will be clarity into which incident presents the biggest danger — and the most critical can be dealt with first.
- Remediation — Addressing and responding to a breach or hack is the primary feature of any MDR service. This allows your provider to take action immediately, and remotely, to contain and address a cybersecurity event within your network or environment.
- Proactive Threat Hunting — Not all security incidents are caught by an organization’s security stack. Managed Detection and Response providers can proactively search an organization’s network and systems for indications of an ongoing attack and, if one is detected, take steps to remediate it.
MDR Addresses Challenges Facing Small Businesses
Managed detection and response helps resource-challenged organizations increase their cybersecurity maturity and fortify their defense against cybersecurity threats. MDR, through a third-party partner, empowers such groups in sidestepping some of the problems they face in building strong solutions in-house.
- Personnel Limitations — The cybersecurity industry, as a whole, has many more unfilled positions than qualified professionals to fill them. Most businesses find it difficult, if not impossible, to fill these roles on their own. MDR allows businesses to fill these gaps with external security experts.
- Limited Access to Experts — Beyond raw manpower, many organizations need insight into particular aspects of cybersecurity, such as malware analysis, cloud security, or incident response. MDR provides immediate access to external cybersecurity expertise when it is required without the need to attract and retain this talent in-house.
- Slow Threat Detection — Many cybersecurity incidents go undetected for a significant amount of time, increasing the cost and impact on the target organization. MDR cuts both the reduced mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR); this reduces both the risk of an incident and minimizes the cost incurred by an organization if an event occurs.
- Security Immaturity — Building an effective cybersecurity program can be expensive due to the required tools, licenses, and personnel. MDR enables you to rapidly deploy a full security program with 24/7 threat detection and response and decreases the individual company’s total cost of ownership of cybersecurity.
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Arm Your Business with the Best Defense Through Arnet Technologies
For more than a decade, Arnet Technologies has delivered premier managed IT services to businesses across Ohio. No matter the industry, we empower your business to focus on growth — and not troubleshooting technical issues. We cover the entire scope of IT services, from managing your network to data recovery and much more, with each customized to your business-specific needs.
Our complete line of managed cybersecurity solutions is modeled on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST). Managed detection and response is part of our five-point approach — Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover — to ensure your business is covered 24/7. We help you rapidly identify and limit the impact of threats without the need for additional staffing.
Connect with our team today to learn more about MDR, cybersecurity, and how we can safeguard your business.
