Understanding EDR Testing Landscape

Ever since its first release, endpoint detection and response (EDR) has changed dramatically to better address the evolving cyber threats.

However, looking for something that works for your business can be tricky. You need an EDR testing script to help narrow down your search.

The EDR market has experienced three waves of innovation, each focusing on specific functionality.

First Wave: Event Visibility

With the introduction of EDR solutions, the first wave zeroed in on providing security teams with visibility into the events that occur in the network. However, this approach wasn’t able to provide actionable intelligence that can be used by security teams.

Because of this, companies with the best incident response investigators and Security Operations Center (SOC) teams are the ones who mainly adopted EDR software.

Second Wave: Event Alerting

EDR products in the second wave have addressed the previous shortcomings. They added alert capabilities together with event visibility and context.

However, the thing that was lacking here was automation. It causes alert fatigue as alerts are not connected to an actionable response.

Remediation needs a SOC level 2 analyst to examine each detection thoroughly before closing the ticket.

What has the third wave introduced?

In the third wave of innovation, there have been some enhancements in usability and automation, making EDR effective for organizations with security teams of any skill level.

What drove the development of the EDR in this wave was the need to keep up with cybercriminals. Since they have changed their attack strategies, EDR solutions need to include the following:

• Actionability
• Automation
• Comprehensive security

Third-generation EDR technologies offer a closely integrated set of capabilities that can manage the attack chain — from proactive protection through suspicious activity monitoring and automated incident management. These skills establish a network that learns, adapts, and informs itself, resulting in a security stack that works optimally.

Third-party Testing

Given these innovations, EDR test scripts play an important role in the selection process. They can help prospective buyers determine which one is the best for them.

The distinct conundrum with these resources is that the testing procedures are built with a specific and tightly defined scope to “level the playing field.” This means that the testing is often one step behind the most cutting-edge EDR innovation.

Of course, this makes sense because test centers can’t change their standardized methodology until they’ve seen and comprehended the latest EDR developments.
Now that the EDR market has entered its third wave, testing laboratories will also need to modify their evaluation and testing criteria to embrace these developments. For instance:

Actionability vs. Alert Fatigue

EDR testing script needs to distinguish between actionability and alert fatigue.

In terms of testing, this entails revealing only actionable detections discovered within the suspicious activity to avoid alert fatigue. This includes those that are most relevant to ultimately preventing an attack.

Third-wave testing criteria include the concept of a “main UI event notification” vs. a “secondary UI for finding additional detections.”

Testing Holistically and Not Separately

EDR test scripts must keep an eye on the overall performance of the solution. It should evaluate the EDR’s ability to protect, detect, and remediate, and how they work together cohesively.

How Do Organizations Implement EDR Testing Script?

EDR test scripts enable you to understand how the solutions differ from each other. Since tests develop at a slower pace than the technology they’re supposed to examine, no standardized test can replace a thorough proof of concept in a real-world setting.

When assessing EDR solutions, businesses should look for a vendor who has a detection and response plan that matches their goals. When doing an EDR evaluation, consider the following criteria:

Points out the risks

Find out where the sensitive data is located and what the routes to that data are.

Protect the data that matters most

This includes critical corporate and customer information.

Consider the level of security expertise available

As most businesses do not have enough cyber security professionals, evaluations should focus on the solution’s level of complexity. Does it require new integrations, a sophisticated user interface, or a different set of expertise to operate? Check out the brand and reputation of the company on peer review sites and select the solution that meets your given criteria.

Takeaways

EDR has expanded at a fast rate to assist you and your company in detecting, preventing, and remediating cyber-attacks. You can better deliver on your cybersecurity if you have a deeper awareness of your EDR solution. Using an EDR test script can help you discover how you can adapt it to your incident response strategy.

Contact Comodo for an EDR solution and other cybersecurity needs.

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