Why EDR Should Be Your Next Investment in Cybersecurity

May 8, 2023

If you are looking for a way to protect your network from malware, ransomware, and other cyber threats, you might be wondering whether you need an antivirus (AV) solution or an endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution.

While both tools aim to keep your devices and data safe, they have different approaches and capabilities that make them suitable for different scenarios. In this blog post, we will explain what AV and EDR are, how they differ, and why EDR is better than standard antivirus for modern security challenges.

What is Antivirus?

Antivirus is a type of software that scans files on your devices for known malicious signatures or behaviors. If it detects a match with its database of known threats, it blocks or removes the file before it can execute and cause damage. Antivirus solutions have been around for decades and have been many organizations' primary defense against malware infections.

However, antivirus solutions have some limitations, making them less effective against today's sophisticated and evolving cyber threats.

Some of these limitations are:

Antivirus relies on signature-based detection, which means it can only identify threats previously seen and analyzed by the AV vendor. This leaves a gap between when a new threat emerges and when the AV database is updated with its signature. During this gap, the threat can bypass the AV protection and compromise your network.
Antivirus does not provide much visibility into what happens after an infection occurs. It does not collect or analyze data from your endpoints to understand how the threat behaves, what it does, or where it spreads. This makes it hard to contain and remediate an attack quickly and effectively.
Antivirus offers little flexibility or customization for different security needs. It often comes as part of an endpoint protection platform (EPP) that includes other features such as firewall control, data encryption, process allow and block lists, etc. However, these features may not be enough to address specific security challenges or compliance requirements.

What is EDR?

EDR stands for endpoint detection and response. It is a type of software that monitors your network for malicious or anomalous activity in real-time. It collects and analyzes data from your endpoints to detect threats that may evade antivirus solutions. It also provides tools to respond to incidents quickly and efficiently.

EDR solutions offer several advantages over antivirus solutions:

EDR uses behavioral-based detection, which means it can identify threats based on how they act rather than how they look. This allows it to detect unknown or zero-day threats that do not have signatures yet. It also enables it to spot advanced persistent threats (APTs) that use stealthy techniques such as fileless malware or living off-the-land attacks.
EDR provides rich historical and real-time visibility into what happens on your endpoints. It records every event and process on your devices and correlates them with threat intelligence sources to provide context and insights into an attack. It also alerts you of any suspicious activity or indicators of compromise (IOCs) on your network.
EDR offers flexible and customizable options for different security needs. You can choose from different automation or human intervention levels depending on how much control you want over your security operations. You can also tailor your policies and rules based on your risk appetite or compliance standards.

Why EDR is Better Than Standard Antivirus

As you can see from the comparison above, EDR is better than standard antivirus because it provides more comprehensive protection against modern cyber threats. While antivirus may still be helpful as a basic layer of defense against known malware variants, it cannot cope with the complexity and diversity of today's attacks.

EDR gives you more visibility into what happens on your endpoints, more intelligence into how threats operate, and more capabilities to respond effectively.

With EDR, you can:

Detect new and advanced threats that bypass antivirus solutions
Contain and remediate incidents faster and more efficiently
Reduce the impact and cost of breaches on your business

Contact Hub Technology Solutions today at 204-772-8822 or 1-833-847-0725 to learn more about how EDR can help you improve your security posture.