June 17, 2020
In recent years, cybersecurity has seen a rise in malicious activity. This has revealed how important it is to have a good IT system in your corner. Have you heard of MDR? It stands for Managed Detection and Response. At the core of MDR is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform. It is a powerful tool many businesses should consider using. In a nutshell, SIEM software solutions are used by business organizations of all sizes to detect and respond to potential IT security threats. Today, we’ll be providing a brief overview on MDR, how it functions and why your organization needs an MDR solution.
What does MDR mean?
Think of MDR as “SIEM as a service.” Basically, much of the workload is outsourced and handled by a third-party. Many organizations are unable to invest in badly needed SIEM technologies, so they turn to a managed SIEM solution instead. This in turn allows an organization to quickly scale its security information and event management platform — improving the organization’s overall security posture. Compliance requirements are also more easily met using this service. MDR providers are often well-connected within the cybersecurity industry, including with other major security technology vendors. This gives them access to more tools, resources and expertise, along with the latest innovations and timely alerts about the latest detected threats.
A recent SIEM deployment by Rimstorm for a government contractor provides an excellent example of the benefits of our services. This particular organization was informed they would soon be subject to an audit to ensure compliance with NIST 800-171. They were concerned, rightfully so, they did not have sufficient security controls in place to ensure compliance.
At the organization’s request, Rimstorm reviewed their current security posture with an emphasis on NIST compliance. Like many government contractors, this organization was deficient in a number of areas, including security alerting and monitoring, log storage, vulnerability assessment scans, incident handling and threat detection. Rimstorm’s Cyber Managed Security Service, an MDR solution, was directly able to address all of these deficiencies to ensure NIST compliance.
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How does SIEM work?
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SIEM tools typically work by gathering information from all IT assets on your organization’s network. This information comes in the form of event logs and is displayed on a single interface. From there, a skilled security analyst can manipulate and organize the data to identify Indicators of Compromise (IOCs). These IOCs can tell the analyst where an intrusion or potentially malicious activity is happening on a network and from there, they can react to stop it.
Why is MDR recommended for most organizations?
Like most things, it always comes down to time, money and resources. All three are required for a proper SIEM solution, and most small- to mid-size businesses simply don’t have enough of one or all to invest. And that’s where MDR comes into play. Leveraging MDR allows a provider to quickly deploy its own hosted SIEM for your organization. Alternatively, you can purchase the SIEM outright, and the provider then deploys and scales the solution specifically for your environment. In both instances, it’s a much more hassle-free solution, and you’ll see the results far more quickly than you would otherwise from doing it all on your own.
Beyond simply setting up the system for you, an MDR provider takes it a step further by proactively monitoring and dealing with threats. All of this combined is far more than most businesses can be expected to handle on their own — not if they want to focus on what their business actually does. At Rimstorm, we keep this at the forefront of our mission. By letting us manage the technology for you, you’ll be able to focus on what really matters to you — all while staying within your budget and without having to divert critical resources.