Real-Time Threat Protection: Managed Threat Detection and Response Explained
Living in the digital age allows companies to conduct transactions around the world in real time. It also increases the risk of a cyberattack and the need for managed threat detection and response services.
Cybercriminals can ransack your organization’s system in the dead of night, inflicting staggering losses and reputational damage. The average cost of a data breach exceeded $4.45 million in 2023, an increase of 15 percent over the last three years. In 2022, nearly a half-billion organizations were targeted by ransomware hackers and 3.4 billion phishing emails. These hackers routinely breach networks and steal digital assets from foreign lands where they will not be held accountable.
As much as entrepreneurs and C-Suite leaders would like to build a cybersecurity team to effectively build a moat around its digital assets, such aspirations have become unrealistic. More than 700,000 cybersecurity jobs went unfilled in the U.S. last year due to a global talent shortage. Even if an enterprise could hire highly skilled professionals, attrition, salary costs and the need for ongoing training make creating a security operations center impractical. The good news is that outsourcing managed detection and response services deliver better results.
Benefits of Managed Threat Detection and Response
Organizations need the tools, technology and professionals to protect their valuable and sensitive information from thieves. Managed threat detection and response remains the most effective way to proactively secure your digital assets. This approach goes far beyond employing enterprise-level firewalls and antivirus software packages.
The process typically involves a non-physical security operations center supported by remote cybersecurity professionals. These trained and certified staff members provide security monitoring 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Using next-gen technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), threat detection capabilities can be highly refined. For example, the security operators could drill down to program AI and machine learning to send them an alert if user activity varies as little as odd keyboard strikes. These rank among the enhanced benefits companies enjoy by outsourcing their managed threat detection and response needs.
Threat Hunting
It wasn’t long ago that cybersecurity followed a break-and-fix model. Hackers broke into your system, stole assets and damaged others. A company’s managed IT staff was tasked with repairing the damage and updating firewalls. The threat detection model puts that dysfunctional concept in the rearview mirror. Using a remote security network, cybersecurity professionals search for the telltale signs of active hacking threats in progress. Then, they attack and repel the threat before they can perpetrate a crime.
Regulatory Compliance
The days of the internet being something of a free-for-all are long gone. Government regulations now place stringent mandates on companies to maintain customer privacy and protect critical information. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) tasks caregiving operations with protecting patient privacy. The Pentagon is in the process of rolling out the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requiring outfits in the military industrial base to meet higher standards. These regulations can be seamlessly integrated into the managed threat detection and response services.
Cybersecurity Customization
Managed threat detection and response is not a one-size-fits-all approach to cybersecurity. Each organization has a unique system designed to maximize efficiency, productivity and goal achievement. Unlike uploading antivirus software or checking firewall option boxes, threat detection and monitoring can be tailored to sync with your system and best practices. As a security solution, managed threat detection and response approaches adapt to a company’s needs.
Vulnerability Scanning
When decision-makers partner with a third-party managed IT cybersecurity firm to upgrade their defenses, they gain a much-needed system vetting. It’s not uncommon for a hacker to gain access to a business network and hide in plain sight, copying valuable information indefinitely. A prime example is the Marriott hotel chain hack. Cybercriminals used seemingly legitimate usernames and passwords to infiltrate the system in 2014. They were randomly discovered in 2018, after pilfering off 340 million guest records, despite many believing Marriott had robust security. Onboarding a firm to handle ongoing threat detection and response brings a new set of eyes to the equation.
Cloud Threat Monitoring
Industry leaders continue to take advantage of cloud technologies that lower costs and help improve productivity. By that same token, moving confidential information from in-house hardware to a virtual storage space can lead to increased vulnerabilities. The good news is that threat monitoring and response experts have the bandwidth to oversee and protect your digital assets anywhere. If they can be accessed by hackers, cybersecurity professionals can remotely stand guard over them as well.
Incident Investigation
It’s important to keep in mind that more than 80 percent of data breaches are caused by human error. The common theme is that an unsuspecting employee clicks on a malicious email or downloads a malware-laced file. In some cases, hackers prey on someone’s good nature or create a false sense of security, prompting them to divulge login information.
No cybersecurity program can prevent a mistake. Threat detection and monitoring give companies the ability to pinpoint the cause. The findings of a probe serve as a guide that can be used to educate staff members about cybersecurity threats.
A recent report indicates that security vulnerabilities increased by upwards of 589 percent in 2023. The average in-house security department is now responsible for protecting more than 393,000 digital assets against more than 830,000 potential threats. This scenario has become untenable for companies as cybercriminals devise daily schemes to upend operations. Working with a managed detection and response services provider is the solution.
How Managed Detection and Response Services Work
Cybersecurity experts sometimes use the catchall term “threat landscape” to speak about the risks presented by bad actors. The hard data demonstrates the threat landscape is growing at an almost exponential rate. That, in turn, means your business is more likely to find itself in the crosshairs of a cyberattack at any given moment.
No one can legitimately claim they can reliably, 100% of the time, stop a well-funded, sophisticated cybercriminal who is determined to breach your system. However, these managed detection and response services give you the power to identify, repel and mitigate the effects of malware, ransomware or brute-force attacks.
Threat Detection Intelligence
It’s essential to have reliable threat intelligence because networks process and transmit an avalanche of data every day. Software packages too often overwhelm IT staff with a mountain of false alerts. And when these and other protections are retooled to reduce the number of notifications, they lack the ability to differentiate a subtle threat from a false positive, so to speak.
Utilizing virtual security oversight provides decision-makers with actionable intelligence about potential and imminent threats. The process delivers evidence-based knowledge by monitoring activities that produce indicators of unusual activity. Third-party cybersecurity experts who closely monitor a business network 24-7 know how to identify credible threats. Threat detection intelligence is only valuable when in the hands of the right people.
Proactive Incident Response
The goal of incident response is to handle threat actors before they gain a foothold in your system. By tracking anomalies in real time, the activity of garden variety hackers is easily identified. High level incident response techniques also ferret out the more subtle techniques used by skilled and well-funded cybercriminals. One of the ways security operations providers preemptively hit digital thieves is by employing threat hunting strategies. In other words, your cybersecurity provider goes looking for bad actors lingering on the cusp of your digital perimeter.
Forensic Analysis
Similar to the themes of a CSI television series, forensic analysis in the cybersecurity sector involves closely scrutinizing and documenting evidence. The purpose is not necessarily to lay blame on a staff member who erred. A forensic analysis report identifies the failure that resulted in a breach or malware infection to prevent repeat incidents. Fact-based reporting helps business leaders make informed decisions about their cybersecurity policies.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
Security information and event management solutions are part of the preemptive strategies used to deter hackers. Often focused on user activities that can disrupt operations, an effective SIEM approach deploys advanced technologies and tools to scrutinize even minor changes in user activities. Had Marriott effectively utilized SIEM solutions, hackers would not have been able to hide in plain sight for four years.
Endpoint Detection and Response
The rise in remote workforces and company policies that allow personal devices to connect with business networks has augmented the attack surface. Hackers are keenly aware that everyday people repeat weak passwords and do not always follow the best security practices. One example is logging on to public Wi-Fi, where hackers routinely take advantage of users.
Clever online thieves set up look-alike platforms at coffee shops. When unsuspecting remote workers input their information for what they believe is a secured connection, hackers copy their username and password and gain access to the system. Managed threat detection and response services can be expanded to monitor activity on endpoint products such as smartphones, laptops and other handheld devices.
User and Entity Behavior Analytics
User and entity behavior analytics, called UEBA in cybersecurity circles, leverages software that automatically monitors potentially threatening user activity. By following the behavior asserted through an in-house or endpoint device, UEBA has proven effective in thwarting insider attacks. These include criminal gangs such as those involved in the notorious Marriott hackers as well as disgruntled employees and industry spies. In the corporate world, unscrupulous competitors are willing to pay for trade secrets that company insiders can access. But when someone touches on data outside their normal wheelhouse, UEBA analytics flag their movement.
Network Traffic Analysis
This approach to cybersecurity provides wide-reaching benefits to organizations. The continuous monitoring of network traffic closes vulnerabilities, particularly after hours when hackers expect less resistance. As a business solution, traffic analysis can also be used to improve the efficiency of an organization’s digital resources. That’s largely because the service augments visibility across devices, supports regulatory compliance and helps maintain perimeter vigilance. The importance of deterring threat actors before they insert malware or ransomware cannot be understated.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
The roles machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) play in threat detection and proactive response are unparalleled. When coupled and integrated into cybersecurity monitoring services, they are perhaps a hacker’s worst nightmare. These technologies never stop searching for the slightest anomalies in terms of processes, transmissions and seemingly legitimate user activity.
If a hacker learns the username and password of an employee, the criminal’s activity would differ from that of someone completing tasks. Machine learning and AI processes trigger alerts when abnormalities in network use changes. Hackers cannot escape the fact they are trying to snatch files that employees do not access on a regular basis. The real-time notifications triggered by AI and machine learning help cybersecurity professionals promptly expel bad actors.
Alert Triage and Prioritization
One of the shortcomings associated with expanding threat detection and monitoring tools is the sometimes-overwhelming number of notifications. Depending on how AI, machine learning, UEBA and threat hunting processes are established, a blurring number of alerts can be produced. What typically happens is that managed IT staff members cannot easily distinguish between harmless irregularities and genuine threats. Triage and prioritization models use next-gen technologies to efficiently assess and categorize risks. Cybersecurity professionals act on the greatest threats first and work their way down the list. This practical approach utilizes your cybersecurity resources in a logical and orderly fashion.
Scalability
Working with a managed detection and response services provider has emerged as a standard practice. Staffing a 24-7 cybersecurity team is cost-prohibitive and impractical given the shortage of experts in the field. A managed services provider, by contrast, enjoys a full staff of certified professionals able to monitor your network long after employees have left for the day. At Red River, we are open arms to offering cybersecurity and managed IT services based on need and budgetary limits.
Red River Provides Reliable, Cost-Effective Managed Detection and Response Services
If you are concerned about network vulnerabilities or hackers breaching your system overnight, Red River offers cost-effective cybersecurity you can trust. Our certified and experienced professionals perform 24-7 managed detection and response services. To learn more about how we can protect your operation, contact Red River today.
