Endpoint Detection and Response

What is Endpoint Detection and Response?

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a set of tools and practices designed to detect, investigate, and respond to threats on endpoints. Unlike signature-based antivirus, EDR focuses on identifying unusual behaviors, unauthorized access attempts, and lateral movement within an environment. Key capabilities include activity logging, real-time threat detection, automated remediation, and forensic investigation.

Why is EDR important?

Endpoints remain one of the most common attack vectors. With the rise of remote work, cloud adoption, and sophisticated threats, organizations need EDR to: - Detect attacks that bypass traditional antivirus and firewalls. - Contain ransomware and malware outbreaks before they spread. - Provide forensic visibility for incident response teams. - Support compliance requirements by logging and auditing endpoint activity.

What threats does EDR protect against?

• Ransomware: Detects encryption behaviors and isolates infected devices.
• Insider threats: Flags abnormal file access or unauthorized data transfers.
• Credential theft: Identifies suspicious login attempts or token misuse.
• Advanced persistent threats (APTs): Monitors for lateral movement and stealthy persistence.
• Zero-day exploits: Uses behavior-based detection to identify previously unknown attacks.
  

How does EDR work?

EDR solutions operate in four main phases:

• Monitoring: Collects endpoint activity data such as process execution, file access, and network connections.
• Detection: Uses rules, AI, and threat intelligence to identify anomalies.
• Response: Automates containment, such as isolating endpoints or killing malicious processes.
• Investigation: Provides forensic tools and dashboards for security teams to analyze attack paths.

Use Cases

• Healthcare: Protects clinical endpoints from ransomware, ensuring continuity of care and compliance with HIPAA.
• Financial Services: Monitors trading platforms and employee devices for insider threats and credential misuse to reduce fraud.
• Government & Legal: Supports forensic investigations into unauthorized access, safeguarding classified or sensitive case data.
• Cloud & Hybrid Environments: Extends detection and response capabilities to virtual machines and remote workers, reducing blind spots.

How Netwrix can help

Netwrix strengthens endpoint security with solutions that go beyond traditional protection. By combining Endpoint Management, Privileged Access Management (PAM), and Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), Netwrix enables organizations to:

• Detect and respond to malicious activity in real time.
• Control and restrict the use of removable media to prevent data exfiltration.
• Enforce least privilege on endpoints to reduce the risk of compromise.
• Discover, classify, and protect sensitive data stored or processed on devices.

This integrated approach helps stop threats at the endpoint before they escalate into full-scale breaches.

FAQs

Suggested Resources

• Netwrix Endpoint Management
• 5 Types of Endpoint Security You're Probably Missing
• Zero Trust Endpoint Security: A Complete Guide