How to Evaluate Competing MDR Service Providers

• Managed detection and response services vary widely so carefully evaluate competencies against your needs
• MDR delivery and execution success depends on the service provider’s people, processes, and technology
• Effective response requires game-planning pre-approved actions and escalations for foreseeable events

Is Outsourcing Security on Your Mind?

Has the daily grind of cyber-defense got you thinking about outsourcing a portion of your security program to an experienced team of professionals that never sleeps? Are you confused by vague and varying claims of managed security services that number well into the dozens, wondering how to evaluate so many competing offerings? If so, read on to learn the key considerations that help to decide if managed detection and response is for you.

What is Managed Detection and Response?

Managed detection and response (MDR) services identify security incidents within a customer’s environment and take action to minimize their impact. MDR encompasses much more than simple breach notification. Effective MDR programs deliver beneficial security outcomes by leveraging 24/7 monitoring, visibility and response technologies deployed at the host and network layers, advanced analytics, threat intelligence, and human expertise in incident investigation to remove threat actors and restore secure security baselines.

What Makes a Managed Detection and Response Service Stand Out?

The ability to deliver and execute managed security services effectively depends entirely on the successful intersection of three key pillars of organizational competency, all operating together at peak efficiency:

• People – Who is the team behind the service delivery? What is their experience and security vision?
• Processes – What systems have they set up to methodically identify, triage, and escalate alerts?
• Technology – What tools are in place to quickly detect, correlate, and respond to security incidents?
  
  

A high-functioning MDR service includes many competencies and components seamlessly working together.

 

The Bitdefender Advantage

Bitdefender’s MDR is a fully managed service delivered by our 24x7 Security Operations Center (SOC)—a proactive cybersecurity operation with true threat hunting by skilled analysts with deep cross-disciplinary cybersecurity expertise. Comprehensive visibility into our customers’ networks enable more effective detections, including correlation of network and endpoint indicators back to the same incident. Our highly effective response playbooks are based on pre-approved actions and escalations to stop attackers and evict them from our customers’ networks, far exceeding the basic alert notifications of some other MDR providers.

1. Our People

Bitdefender has assembled a deep bench of skilled cybersecurity talent, recruited from the top training and proving grounds of the United States Air Force Cyber-Command, the NSA, and other top military and intelligence services. The MDR business and operational leadership team, plus large portions of the analysts, have worked together previously for many years. So, while MDR may be a relatively recent offering from Bitdefender, our SOC team is a well-oiled machine with the proven ability to work together and to serve managed security customers.

2. Our Processes

We run a proactive cybersecurity operation with true threat hunting performed by skilled analysts with deep cross-disciplinary cybersecurity expertise. Cyber-pros know that automated threat hunting only goes so far—you need well-trained and experienced human analysts to make the necessary connections and pull all of the various pieces together. In a highly scalable design, Level 1 analysts scour alerts and anomalies for potential security incidents, which are then handed off to Level 2 and 3 analysts for confirmation and advanced threat hunting. 

3. Our Technology

Our service capabilities include world class, award winning endpoint protection platforms, including Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra and Network Traffic Security Analytics (NTSA), plus additional visualization and management toolsets. In addition, MDR incorporates Bitdefender Advanced Threat Intelligence which brings contextual real-time insights into the global threat landscape, continuously informed by over 500 million distributed worldwide sensors, putting perhaps the industry’s largest sensor network to work for you to deliver superior detection. 

Watch our short on-demand webcast and find out how MDR can raise your security game

 

Putting it All Together – Our MDR Operational Cycle

All the Bitdefender advantages described here converge in our proven, smooth-running MDR operational cycle:

• Prevent – World-class prevention technology to stops malware infections before they cause harm
• Detect – Host & network telemetry plus security analytics and automation to enable proactive hunting
• Respond – Pre-approved actions executed quickly by the SOC team to limit dwell time and reduce risk
• Report – Real-time reports support security decision-making and provide visibility during incidents.

Bitdefender Managed Detection and Response Service

Bitdefender MDR delivers high-quality, reliable security outcomes from our state-of-the-art SOC staffed by cross-disciplinary security professionals with top-notch cyber skills needed to keep your endpoints and network devices safe and your business running smoothly. MDR lets your security team focus on the strategic priorities that move your program forward, while not having to respond to routine alerts or chase down false positives.

Remember, it’s a service provider’s people, processes, and technology—plus the scalability and effectiveness of their operational cycle—that determines their ability to detect threats and respond effectively to keep your business safe. So, if you’re thinking about managed security and MDR, we hope these tips will serve you well.

Learn more about Bitdefender Managed Detection and Response or download the MDR data sheet.