It simply cannot protect from more complex and evolving threats which your business is facing whether you are aware of it happening or not.
Antivirus is something that is installed on your device such as a computer that looks for known signatures of malware. They key here is being known. This can be explained relatively easily by thinking of shoplifters who get caught. Sure, Walmart and Target as well as the Police know if you have been caught shoplifting, but there are a lot of others who haven't been caught yet. Free antivirus is not sufficient for your business nor your personal devices.
Endpoint Detection and Response also referred to as EDR, is looking at specific actions such as Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs). This is not a replacement for antivirus, you need both. EDR is your only chance at defending against the threats your business faces in today's world. Let's keep with the shoplifters to describe how EDR works. If Walmart and Target know that shoplifters normally walk around the store looking at the number of people around, the position of the cameras (tactics) and then hide a product within another product and place it into a bag they came in with from a different store (techniques) and then proceed to leave the store without buying anything (procedures) then they are likely shoplifting. It is based on the actions of something occurring rather than looking at some signature that is always the same.
Now you may have heard of EDR, MDR, and XDR. These are in essence the same but focused on different technology stacks. MDR stands for Managed Detection and Response where XDR stands for Extended Detection and Response which could be more related to your network versus your device. Let's focus on MDR for a minute. With most businesses having a Microsoft 365 tenant which is a Software as a Service (SaaS) consumption model your traditional EDR isn't going to be able to help you there as this is something that sits in an ecosystem you only have access to but rest assured that ecosystem is in dire need of being monitored. There are some vendors out there that offer this as a service, and we highly recommend it in addition to the EDR for your devices.
Regardless of the EDR, MDR, or XDS solution the key is to have it managed and monitored 24 hours a day. Just because you go home after work doesn't mean the bad guys do. If you want to learn more about EDR for your devices and MDR for your Microsoft 365 tenant, we would be more than happy to show you how it works as these are included in some of our managed services packages for device monitoring and email security. Our MDR offering is through Huntress and can be up and running in minutes. For more information on the Huntress service click here.
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