Top Reasons Why EDR is Better Than Traditional Antivirus
EDR Solutions is evident in the new normal that the traditional way of doing business and working eight-hour jobs are no longer restricted to the four corners of an office. This meant that companies have adjusted and allowed their employees to work from home. Although it meant comfort for employees, companies now have to make sure that their systems and information are kept extra safe.
Cybersecurity is a never-ending cat-and-mouse situation involving the constant pursuit of malicious software and even file-less malware. As cybercriminals constantly up their game, so should your EDR solutions.
WHAT ARE EDR SOLUTIONS?
EDR solution is a term coined by Anton Chuvakin of Gartner Blog Network in 2013 to classify a group of tools that primarily focused on the detection and response to suspicious software. In case you missed it, endpoints are entry points in end-user devices such as laptops, desktops, mobile phones, and gadgets that are connected to a network.
EDRs are primarily focused on four functions:
- Monitor and collect data from endpoints that could potentially pose a threat.
- Analyze collected data to recognize what threat patterns look like.
- Send out an automated response to identified threats to isolate them.
What are the Differences Between EDR Solutions and Antivirus?
EDR vs Antivirus
Traditional antivirus software is common to most people especially because it is one of the first programs recommended to be installed when we purchase our devices. Antivirus is designed to detect and block malware or a virus from establishing itself on a device before it accesses the network the user is connected to. However, its limited capabilities are not enough to deal with more sophisticated threats.
EDR solutions, on the other hand, have many capabilities and antivirus is only one of those. Aside from having an antivirus tool, EDR is also capable of providing a monitoring tool, a threat intelligence database, and a cloud-based solution.
It is also distinct from older security solutions because it yields alerts to IT teams and triggers further investigation rather than simply identifying and containing the suspected malware.
WHY EDR SOLUTIONS IS THE WISER CHOICE
1. SCOPE AND RANGE
The antivirus we have come to know is simplistic and has limited scope. It serves basic purposes such as preventing, detecting, and removing malware. However, modern-day malware and cyber threats are more complex, and simple antivirus software might not be enough to deal with them.
Meanwhile, EDR Solutions provides security administrators with a front-row seat with its higher endpoint visibility tool. EDR Solutions also comes with an automated threat response that allows for a faster and more accurate reaction to a posed cybersecurity threat. With this kind of capability, your company can get back to business as usual in no time.
2. ENDPOINT THREAT DETECTION CAPABILITY
While antivirus software can detect malicious software, it only operates through a signature-based detection that can trace viruses logged on its database. This kind of malware detection works by adding the signature of an already known virus or malware to its database and then using this database to identify potential threats as suspicious.
However, EDR solutions go beyond collecting threat intelligence on a database. It also works by employing a behavioral analysis capability that uses machine learning, analytics, and artificial intelligence to differentiate what is a normal and day-to-day end-user activity from what is not.
Through this ability, your organization's EDR solution will be better equipped to deal with threats because your policy will be specially tailored to your needs based on your everyday behavior and activities.
3. MULTIPLE SECURITY LAYERS
EDR solutions are more suitable for businesses today because it has multiple security layers that involve attack blocking, endpoint patching, firewall, whitelisting, blacklisting, and next-generation antivirus.
All these layers are beneficial for your organization because they feed intelligence to each other to provide you with protection from all angles.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In any kind of organization, security is always important and should be your non-negotiable. However, you should make sure that the EDR Solutions you will adopt is capable of protecting your company on many levels. It is also crucial that your EDR Solutions can be adjusted to the specific needs of your organization.
EDR provides you with an increased protection capability that requires a skilled workforce. And that is what Xcitium can provide you, continuous and real-time endpoint visibility with detection and response.
