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What is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?
#DrivingExpertLedTransformation
Rajesh Kumar
Director – Service Delivery (Infra & Cloud Management)
July 23, 2025
Table of Content
- What is the Difference Between an Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?
- How Can EDR Security Help Me?
- Why Should I Deploy an EDR Solution?
- What Types of Deployment and Management are Available to Me?
- What is Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (mEDR)?
- Key capabilities of endpoint detection and response
- FAQs about Endpoint Detection and Response
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a smart cybersecurity technology that helps protect the devices connected to your network. This includes computers, smartphones, servers, and smart devices often found in homes and offices. These devices, known as endpoints, are common targets for cyber attackers seeking to gain unauthorized access to your systems.
EDR monitors devices for any unusual activity. Your security team get alerted when it detects any malicious activity so they can act on the threat. You can liken it to a digital watchdog that keeps your network safe 24×7.
What is the Difference Between an Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?
| Term | Full Form | Function | Limitations | Additional Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EPP |
Endpoint Protection Platform |
First line of defense; acts as perimeter security to prevent threats from entering the system. |
Cannot detect or stop sophisticated attacks that bypass its perimeter defenses. |
Functions as an online security solution. |
|
EDR |
Endpoint Detection and Response |
Identifies and responds to threats that evade the EPP. Continuously monitors systems for malware, viruses, spyware. |
May require advanced analysis and response mechanisms. |
Detects attacks missed by traditional tools and ensures device functionality. |
How Can EDR Security Help Me?
Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and some can evade traditional security measures. For example, ransomware can infiltrate your system, lock up your important files, and demand payment to regain access. Such an attack can disrupt your entire organization. This is where Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) really makes a difference. EDR helps you quickly spot suspicious activity, contain the threat before it spreads, and remove it from your systems. It gives you better control and visibility over what’s happening on your devices, helping protect your data and keep your business running smoothly.
Why Should I Deploy an EDR Solution?
Standard antivirus software and Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) do a good job of blocking many common threats, but they are not perfect. Some advanced attacks are designed to bypass these defenses and go undetected. That is why Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is essential. EDR enables you to identify more sophisticated threats, investigate suspicious activity as it occurs, and take prompt action to stop the attack. It adds a critical layer of protection by helping you catch what traditional tools might miss and respond before any real damage is done.
What Types of Deployment and Management are Available to Me?
There are typically two main ways to deploy and manage an EDR solution. The first option is to have your internal security team handle the deployment and day-to-day management of the EDR system. This approach gives your team full control and visibility over how the solution is used.
The second option is to use a managed EDR service. In this case, the EDR solution is deployed and managed by your internal team, a trusted security vendor, or a security partner. This can be a good choice if your organization needs additional expertise or wants to lighten the load on internal resources.
What is Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (mEDR)?
Managed Endpoint Detection and Response, or mEDR, is a service where a security vendor or partner delivers and manages EDR capabilities for your organization. Instead of handling everything in-house, your EDR solution is deployed, monitored, and supported by experienced cybersecurity professionals. These teams actively look for threats, investigate suspicious activity, and often take direct action to stop attacks on your behalf. With mEDR, your organization can benefit from faster threat detection and response times, while freeing up your internal team to focus on higher-level priorities and the most critical risks to your business.
Key capabilities of endpoint detection and response
Detection
Threat detection is one of the core strengths of an EDR solution. In today’s landscape, it is not a question of if a sophisticated attack will happen, but when. Once a threat enters your environment, your ability to detect it quickly is critical. Without accurate detection, you cannot contain, assess, or eliminate the risk effectively. This is especially challenging when dealing with advanced malware that is designed to stay hidden. Some threats can appear harmless at first and only reveal their true intent after they have already made it past your defenses.
EDR helps address this challenge through continuous file analysis. It constantly monitors files for any signs of suspicious behavior. For example, a file might initially seem safe, but if it starts acting like ransomware a few weeks later, EDR will catch the change. It then begins the evaluation process and alerts your team so action can be taken right away. However, EDR’s ability to detect threats depends heavily on the quality of the threat intelligence behind it. The most effective solutions use large-scale data, machine learning, and advanced analysis to stay ahead of evolving threats. The stronger the threat intelligence, the better your chances of spotting and stopping malicious activity. In short, without strong detection capabilities and up-to-date intelligence, an EDR solution cannot fully protect your environment.
Containment
It is essential to stop a detected threat. Cybersecurity threats try to move to every part of your network and systems to infect as many as devices possible. Even if you’ve already taken steps like network segmentation to limit the spread of threats, an EDR solution adds an additional layer of defense. It can contain dangerous files before they have a chance to move across your systems. This is especially important with threats like ransomware, which can lock up your data and be incredibly difficult to remove once it’s taken hold.
A good EDR solution also lets you isolate any compromised devices. By cutting them off from the rest of the network, you can prevent the threat from spreading further and give your team the time they need to respond and clean up the situation.
Investigation
After a threat has been identified and contained, the next step is to determine how it entered your system. If a malicious file manages to bypass your security, it typically indicates a weakness somewhere. It could be an outdated device, a misconfigured application, or a completely new type of threat your team has not encountered before. These weak spots can go undetected making attacks in the future much easier.
Without a proper investigation, these vulnerabilities can remain hidden, making it easier for future attacks to succeed. EDR helps by giving your team the tools to dig deeper into each incident. It allows them to trace how the threat entered, what actions it took, and where your defenses may have failed. To prevent attacks in the future and secure your systems, this data is key. Sandboxing is a part of this. Sandboxing means isolating a malicious file and observing its behavior. EDR observes how the file acts without risking your wider network. From this, it learns how to better detect and respond to threats like it in the future.
Elimination
One of the most important responsibilities of an EDR solution is to remove the threat completely. Detecting it, containing it, and understanding how it got in are all critical steps. Still, if the threat is not fully eliminated, your systems will remain at risk. To do this effectively, your EDR tool needs a clear view of everything the threat has done. It should be able to answer key questions, such as where the file originated, which systems or data it interacted with, and whether it has spread to other parts of the network. Removing just the visible file is often not enough. In many cases, cleaning up the threat means undoing changes across multiple systems.
That is why visibility is so important. When you can trace the entire history of a threat, it becomes much easier to clean it up completely and restore affected systems to their original state. Some EDR solutions even allow you to automatically roll back changes, helping reduce downtime and limit the impact. The strongest defense comes from combining EDR with an Endpoint Protection Platform, or EPP. While EPP works to block threats from entering in the first place, EDR monitors what happens inside your environment. Together, they provide complete, ongoing protection from both known and unknown threats.
FAQs about Endpoint Detection and Response
What is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?
EDR is a cybersecurity tool that monitors devices like laptops, desktops, and servers to detect suspicious activity. It helps security teams quickly identify and stop attacks before they spread. EDR gives organizations clear visibility into their devices so they can respond fast. Many businesses use EDR as part of their managed IT services and cybersecurity services for better protection and faster response.
How is EDR different from traditional antivirus software?
Traditional antivirus mainly look for known threats using signature databases and block them. EDR goes further by monitoring how programs behave in real-time, catching both known and unknown threats. It also helps investigate attacks and supports faster, smarter responses.
Why do businesses need EDR solutions?
Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and can easily evade basic security tools. EDR helps catch early signs of a breach, allowing businesses to observe and understand attacker behavior. This means they can respond quickly to limit damage and reduce downtime. If you are a business operating in New York where cyberattacks are imminent, you can reach out to Korcomptenz or search online for “managed IT services New York” to find EDR solutions online.
What features should you look for in an EDR solution?
Look for real-time monitoring, smart threat detection, automated response actions, and integration with threat intelligence. It should also offer forensic tools to investigate incidents and the ability to isolate infected devices. Cloud-based management and scalability are significant advantages as well.
Can EDR be used with managed IT and cybersecurity services?
Absolutely. Many businesses combine EDR with managed services, where experts monitor alerts, investigate threats, and handle responses. This way, companies get strong protection without needing a large in-house security team.
