MDR Deep Dive: What It Offers and What To Look For

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has put global and U.S. businesses on notice that the risk of cyberattack is a serious threat. If your company doesn’t have the cyber protection it needs, you’re most likely searching for a security solution, like managed detection and response (MDR) security services. You probably have questions about how to choose a provider, such as: How will the provider integrate with your company’s existing technology and team? Do the provider’s security professionals have the experience to detect and respond to an attack? Are there red flags to be wary of when choosing a provider?

In Chapter 5 of our new eBook Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for Dummies, we discuss what you should consider when choosing an MDR security service. We explain the primary advantages of adopting MDR over other security solutions and offer specifics on what to look for in an MDR provider.

MDR advantages

MDR isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Companies have different compliance requirements, staffing issues, policy requirements, and other considerations. MDR offers a flexible solution that costs less than building an in-house team. We discuss flexibility, cost, and why security expertise is critical to making it all work.

• Flexibility. When we say flexibility, we mean customizability and open integration. MDR can customize its services to your company’s specific needs and integrate any security tools that your company already has in place.

• Cost. The total cost of ownership of MDR is much lower than having to hire a staff and provide it with tools. Tools are expensive to purchase and maintain, and with the global shortage of security staff, qualified professionals come with high salaries — that is, if you can find available talent to hire.

• Security expertise. MDR providers are staffed with knowledgeable, experienced professionals. We discuss the advantages of having these talented humans to keep your company safe from cyberattacks.

  
  

What to look for in an MDR security service

When choosing an MDR provider, there can be major differences in the offerings, and that can mean the difference between an attack penetrating your network and one being stopped. We discuss the most important capabilities to seek out when choosing a provider: 

• Comprehensive logging and reporting. Make sure your provider can handle the volume of incident logs and alerts and has the knowledge to address your compliance issues.

• Detection and response. Confirm that your MDR provider has broad and deep visibility into your internal systems and resources and has the tools to remediate an attack. Also, find out why we believe “focus” can be a red flag.

• Full integration. Be certain the provider integrates with the tools, people, and policies at your company.

• Incident analysis and forensics. Learn why an MDR provider must evolve its own internal procedures and tool sets to meet modern cyber threats.

• Human expertise. People make MDR stand out from other security solutions. Find out how to assess the quality and availability of a provider’s expertise.

Cybersecurity is a global concern, and your company — no matter where it’s located — needs to put in place the right security solution provider to protect against a cyberattack. 

We can give you the details to understand the advantages of MDR and know what to look for in an MDR provider.