Next-generation protection and attack surface reduction (ASR) primarily focus on preventing threats. While these capabilities significantly strengthen an organization’s security posture, they cannot guarantee absolute protection against breaches. Persistent attackers will eventually exploit vulnerabilities through a zero-day exploit, new evasion techniques, user error, or misconfigurations. The reality is not if a breach will occur, but when. This underscores the importance of having robust detection and response mechanisms in place. Enter endpoint detection and response (EDR).
EDR focuses on identifying suspicious activity post-breach and enabling swift incident response. Within Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE), EDR has evolved to emphasize behavioral detections, leveraging both indicators of compromise (IOCs) and indicators of attack (IOAs). By analyzing sequences of events in telemetry data, EDR can identify and automatically respond to a variety of attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Initially introduced as Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for combating advanced threats, MDE has since expanded its capabilities, covering a broad spectrum of security needs across various operating systems. This makes MDE a critical tool for organizations aiming to monitor and respond to endpoint threats effectively.
This article introduces the key EDR features in MDE, such as investigative tools like device timelines, advanced hunting, and enriched entity pages for devices, users, files, and URLs. Additionally, it highlights response capabilities like device isolation, file quarantine, custom detections, and live response (LR). More advanced features, such as automated investigation and response (AIR) and Defender Experts, will also be explored.
Differentiating Between EDR and XDR
Before diving into EDR’s features, it’s essential to clarify the difference between EDR and XDR. While EDR focuses solely on endpoints, XDR (extended detection and response) goes beyond endpoint telemetry by integrating detection and response signals from multiple sources, such as identity systems, email, cloud resources, and cloud-access security.
Microsoft’s XDR approach unifies signals from its security products, creating a single integrated protection stack under Microsoft 365 Defender. This integration provides a holistic view of an organization’s security posture through a unified portal. The level of features accessible in this portal depends on your licensing – for example, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (MDO) enables the Email & Collaboration section.
The shift to XDR has also brought MDE into the unified security portal (accessible at https://security.microsoft.com), replacing the old Security Center portal. Even standalone MDE users now benefit from this unified interface, ensuring seamless integration with other Microsoft security products as needed.
Although some products are still being fine-tuned for integration, Microsoft’s progress in unifying its security ecosystem has been remarkable.
What’s Next?
In this article, we’ve introduced the foundational concepts of EDR and its role in post-breach detection and response. In the next article, we’ll continue exploring EDR’s capabilities in greater detail, focusing on how organizations can maximize these tools to bolster their security posture. Stay tuned!