What is EDR and why should you use it in your business?

Nowadays, traditional protection against cybercriminals is not enough to feel safe. Small and medium-sized companies, which are most often exposed to ransomware attacks, suffer from this.

To illustrate how serious the problem is, you can use statistics:
• 300% - the number of reported cybercrimes has increased since the beginning of the pandemic,
• 92.7% - this is the number of ransomware attacks recorded since 2021,
• 59% - This is the number of managed service providers that said working remotely has led to an increase in ransomware threats.

Most worrying, however, is the fact that hackers target mainly small and medium-sized companies, which account for over 80% of ransomware victims. The effects of these attacks can be tragic: over 60% of small businesses that have experienced them have gone bankrupt.
So how can you effectively protect your organization against threats?

EDR – endpoint protection
Every company has more and more endpoints due to the emergence of more and more mobile devices. Previously, the installation of antivirus software on each of them was effective, but now advanced threat detection and response is required, which is ensured by EDR.
EDR is a multi-layered, integrated endpoint security solution that continuously monitors user devices. It also collects data using a rule-based auto-reply. The EDR platform records and remotely stores endpoint behavior at the system level. It then analyzes them to detect all suspicious activity and provide various response and defense options.
EDR agents collect and analyze data from endpoints and respond to threats that bypass existing antivirus, then alert the security team to any potential threats.

How is EDR different from regular antivirus software?
A widely known and used antivirus is used to detect and remove malware. Originally used to fight computer viruses, it has been the main source of network protection against ransomware for years.
Antivirus tools play an important role in protecting endpoints from threats by providing the ability to detect and respond to malware on an infected computer. However, because they focus on detecting known and common threats. As a result, smarter cybercriminals are able to circumvent this by using various sophisticated attack methods.
In addition, antivirus software must be updated. If your version is not up to date or the threat is not yet known, it will not be detected.
Meanwhile, EDR does not need any updates, constantly watches end-user devices, and detects, analyzes, investigates and reports any cases of dangerous behavior at end stations.

Why is it worth it?
Appropriate functions and a set of capabilities give EDR an advantage over ordinary antiviruses. Expert alerts and features can help protect your organization's device endpoints from highly sophisticated attacks that regular antivirus software can't detect.
Don't stop at basic security to protect your endpoints! Bet on EDR.

EDR is WithSecure's flagship solution. To learn more about this product, please contact our Business Development Director Piotr Kawa.