What is XDR?
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) is a security solution that analyzes data from endpoints, networks, cloud environments, and email to identify and address threats efficiently.
Unlike traditional Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), which focuses only on endpoint security, XDR provides broader visibility, advanced analytics, and automated threat response across an organization’s entire infrastructure.
In 2023, the global XDR market was estimated at approximately USD 1.7 billion and is expected to reach around USD 8.8 billion by 2028.
By using AI-driven detection, behavioral analysis, and automation, XDR enhances security teams’ ability to identify sophisticated attacks, reduce alert fatigue, and accelerate incident response, ultimately strengthening an organization’s overall cybersecurity posture.
How Does XDR Work?
XDR simply collects data from all the siloed security tools and others across the environment so that they can be utilized for quicker threat detection and improved visibility. It provides a holistic approach where it provides a console to help you perform advanced forensic investigation and hunt for threats in different domains.
It also can assess tactics, techniques and procedures, and other threat vectors to help security teams with a resourceful point solution. Unlike other tools, it eliminates the detection and investigation cycle and provides complete visibility to threats along with business context to enable the team to quickly respond to threats.
Moreover, it brings together detection, analysis, hunting, and response in a single place and prevents security teaming from switching between different tools. Here is a step-by-step guide to how XDR works:
Step 1: Collection and Ingestion
This is the first step where XDR collects and ingests all the threat data sourced from different IT stacks. The raw data is usually collected from various sources like endpoints, network sensors, cloud platforms, emails, identity systems, and others.
All the data that are collected mostly include data types like network traffic, endpoint activity, process details, IT alerts, user behavior, log files and file metadata. All the data including real-time and historical are ingested and normalized before they are consolidated into a single console. They are stored in a particular storage repository for further usage.
Step 2: Analysis and Detection
In the second step, XDR performs aggregation and implements correlation rules, user & entity behavior analytics, ML models, and other techniques to uncover threats. The analysis insight is then put on the unified console so that the security team has complete visibility into threat posture in the IT environment.
Usually, data are correlated automatically using AI and ML capabilities to find out any lingering threat. Security teams can also utilize timeline analysis, threat-hunting queries, and other capabilities to detect threats.
Step 3: Response and Threat Mitigation
Once all the threats have been identified, XDR prioritizes the threats and provides automated investigation and response based on the rules.
The response that is usually performed includes the killing of the application process, blocking IP addresses, isolating infected devices or systems, quarantining email, disabling user accounts, and others. The response also includes updating security policies so that similar threats don’t appear in the future.
What are the Benefits of XDR?
XDR platform offers security teams with numerous capabilities and it goes beyond what EDR has on offer. This phenomenon provides XDR with numerous benefits and they are:
Better Security Posture
XDR platform offers enhanced threat visibility, detection, and mitigation capability that allows the organization to tightly secure its cloud and hybrid environment from any kind of threat. Moreover, it eliminates alert fatigue, offers behavioral analysis, and delivers threat intelligence to help the security team better secure the environment.
Granular Threat Visibility
Organizations across the world prefer XDR because it provides granular visibility into their environment by collecting and correlating data across different layers.
Since it sources threat data from email, endpoints, cloud workloads, and other layers, it allows the security team to uncover threats including the one that uses legit protocols and software to gain entry into the system. The analytics and threat insight expand the visibility and speed up the response process.
Better Coverage
With XDR integrated into your environment, you will benefit from better security coverage because it ingests threat data from multiple layers. As a result, security can not only cover blind spots that originated due to siloed security tools but also eliminate security gaps that other tools can’t.
Hassle-Free Detection
XDR helps security teams understand TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures), which are cataloged and analyzed within frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK. A huge benefit of XDR security is that it prioritizes threats according to their severity and this makes it easy for analysts and threat hunters to focus on threats with the most impact. Some XDR tools also come with advanced threat analytics and prebuilt correlation capability which allows the platform to automatically detect threats.
Operational Efficiency
XDR provides a centralized place for storage and response to threats that are tightly integrated into the environment, making it easy for the team to analyze and respond to threats without juggling between tools. The security team also gets a holistic view of the threat posture across the environment from a single console.
Sophisticated Response
Unlike traditional EDR, XDR collects threat data from a variety of sources and it also offers a robust attack path analysis that allows the security team to trace the attack vectors and uncover the possible intention.
The huge pool of information enables the security team to identify the threat and also the necessary corrective action needed to rectify the gap. Most importantly, it comes with sophisticated capabilities that allow it to tailor the response according to the system and utilize control points to lower the impact level.
What are the Use Cases of XDR?
Extended detection and response or XDR has a variety of uses in the industry and it entirely depends upon the purpose of the organization. Here are some popular use cases of XDR:
Proactive Threat Hunting
Every organization has threats in their network but it is not always easy for security teams to perform threat hunting to identify them. Implementing XDR eases up most of the job because it offers a variety of threat data and automation capabilities.
It automates most of the proactive threat-hunting process and enables the team to prioritize their time on severe threats that require complete attention.
Effective Incident Management
Many organizations prefer to use XDR for its effective incident management as it can be configured to automatically or manually respond to threat incidents. It offers a variety of incident responses where it can block IP addresses, quarantine an infected device, quarantine email, kill an application, and many others.
Providing Defense Against APTs
XDR is widely implemented in organizations that require defense against Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs. XDR not only offers proactive threat detection but also offers a focused approach to threat response and prevention that is required to prevent APTs.
Since XDR offers centralized visibility and collects data across the environment, it helps the team to analyze patterns to identify indicators that might indicate APT’s presence. XDR also comes equipped with advanced threat detection and automated threat response that help security teams understand TTPs employed by APT actors and take effective mitigation steps.
Staying Compliant with Regulatory Requirements
When it comes to adhering to regulatory compliance, XDR is really useful for organizations. XDR helps organizations in various aspects like data protection, privacy monitoring, threat detection, risk management, incident response, audit trail recording, threat intelligence, and others that help in meeting regulatory requirements.
Whether an organization needs to comply with HIPAA, GDPR, PII, or FINRA, XDR plays an important role in helping the organization meet all the required requirements.
Ability to Prioritize Alerts
Every security team in an organization needs to prioritize alerts of threats and depending upon the severity they need to respond to the most impactful one.
However, prioritizing alerts while threat hunting often requires them to go through a lot of processes but XDR streamlines this task. Leveraging the deep analysis of a huge volume of data and correlating numerous alerts, helps the team to target high-priority alerts that need immediate response.
Thorough Threat Investigation
Enterprises from different sectors extensively use XDR because of its ability to uncover the origin of threats and assist in different threat investigations.
The collection of threat data from different sources, complete visibility, and automated analysis make it a powerful choice for threat investigation because it also helps the team understand the impact of a detected threat and what devices or users it might have affected.
What are Some XDR Mistakes to Avoid?
XDR has emerged as a robust security solution that enables organizations to uncover threats in their environment and mitigate them before they can make any impact.
However, you need to select an appropriate solution that will offer you the complete benefit of XDR. While selecting a XDR solution, you should avoid the following mistakes:
Poorly Integrated Solution
When choosing an XDR solution, you need to make sure the solution integrates with the IT without any complexity. When an XDR is hard to integrate, it will not only take a lot of time for maintenance but also reduce the effectiveness of the solution.
An XDR solution works best when it is fully integrated into the IT environment as then only it will cover every security layer and perform proactive threat detection.
Operational Complexity
For an XDR to work best in an IT environment needs to be accessible and easy to operate for the security team.
Most importantly, your IT and security team should easily navigate through all the functions and won’t have to go through a steep learning curve to use it or set up the tool. A complex XDR tool will not only take away a lot of time but will also make it difficult for the team to perfectly implement it.
Lack of Automation
XDR is widely preferred by organizations for its automation capabilities so you should avoid choosing a solution that lacks this feature. An XDR tool with all the necessary automation capabilities will seamlessly adapt to the IT environment of the organization and perform targeted responses.
Subpar Responses
There are certain XDR solutions that might offer you robust threat detection but will be treated with poor response action. This will not only reduce the effectiveness of the tool but will also make IT and security more involved in devising the response to threats. So, always look for a solution offering automated response and focus equally on detection and response.
Strategies for Effective XDR Implementation
To effectively implement an XDR solution and get the maximum out of it, organizations need to follow certain strategies. Here are some proven strategies that you can follow:
Vendor Selection
For an effective implementation of XDR, it is important to select the right vendor. You will come across various vendors in the market and you will have to assess them based on the scalability, integration, capabilities, and features they offer.
Besides, you also need to consider the reputation, expertise in your domain, support level, and other factors while considering the vendor. If all your set criteria match, you can expect the XDR solution to be implemented well into your IT environment.
Assessing Current Environment
Before implementing the XDR, you should assess the current IT environment and security infrastructure of your organization. All the tools, data sources, and processes should be thoroughly assessed because they will help you understand how effective XDR will be for your organization.
You should also understand the main reason behind implementing the XDR solution and the reason may be compliance, quick threat detection, or improving security posture. Having a definite reason will help you properly implement the tool.
Determine Data Sources and Quality
It is important to determine the type of data sources with which you will integrate the XDR solution. Identifying all the data source types like endpoints, network logs, cloud activity, and others will help you to properly implement the XDR solution.
While determining data source types, you should also make all the threat data the XDR solution will collect relevant, accurate, and contextual as it will provide an effective result.
Understand the Additive Nature
While implementing the XDR solution in your infrastructure, you should understand its addictive nature as it gets added to your existing system and optimize the functionality of your existing security tool.
To provide effective results, the XDR solution should properly integrate with the existing response procedure so that it can be initiated automatically and provide a better threat response.
Integrate Data Collector One by One
For an effective implementation of XDR, it is best to integrate data collectors one by one and enable the security team to get used to the detection capabilities. Performing a phased rollout of data sources will not only make the team well-rehearsed with the features but also ensure all the processes are performing smoothly before another source is introduced.
Customize the Threat Detection and Response Workflow
Always customize the threat detection and response workflow of the XDR solution for the best implementation result. It should be customized depending on the threat posture, compliance needs, and unique risks. The response to different types of threats should be automated because it will enhance the response speed and provide effective results to the organization.
Align With Regulatory Requirements
You should tailor the XDR implementation in such a way that it aligns with your specific regulatory requirements and ensures optimum protection. You should properly evaluate the requirements of the specific regulations that your organization needs to follow and based on that you should make changes. With proper customization, you will get the best result out of the XDR solution.
Performing Regular Assessment
To increase the effectiveness of XDR implementation, you should perform regular assessments of your XDR implementation and discover which areas require improvements. The regular assessment will also help you to identify configurations that need adjustment and identify threats that need to be addressed.
XDR vs EDR vs NDR vs MXDR vs ITDR
There are an array of detection and response technologies in the industry and XDR is often confused with other technologies due to the similar acronym of “detect and respond”.
However, in reality, XDR is different from other detection and response technologies as it has a different methodology and aim. Here are some popular detection and response technologies that differ from XDR:
Endpoint Detection and Response
XDR is often confused with EDR because it utilizes EDR’s capabilities. However, EDR monitoring and detecting capability is limited to endpoint devices like desktops, systems, and mobile devices and it only detects threats that antivirus can’t.
Network Detection and Response
NDR is widely used for monitoring all the traffic in the network of an organization for detecting and addressing threats. It is useful in uncovering all the hidden threats that might occur in on-premises and cloud environments connected to the network.
Managed Extended Detection and Response
Also abbreviated as MXDR, this detection and response tool is all about offering multi-domain protection with constant response capability. It also offers the organization with dedicated support and expertise to navigate any complexity.
Identity Threat Detection and Response
ITDR is highly different from XDR because it only detects and responds to threats present in the service and privileged accounts present in the network and cloud of your organization.
Final Words
Extended detection and response solution is a widely used new approach to threat detection and response that enables security teams to uncover threats and provide robust protection. Unlike other detection and response approaches, XDR enables the organization to cover every aspect of the security layer in the IT environment and ensure your organization is free from any kind of threat.
It comes with all-round capabilities that offer faster detection, reduce blind spots, and automate remediation. Through this article, we have tried to answer your query “What is extended detection and response” and help you understand how this solution can benefit your organization.
