Cyber threats are constantly growing as attackers seek vulnerabilities and weaknesses to exploit. As a result, threat detection and response have had to grow to meet these threats, empowering IT teams to identify, mitigate, and prevent potential cyberattacks. This has taken several forms, including Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and Extended Detection and Response (XDR).
However, these many options can leave organizations uncertain of what they need and which type of security can best protect their devices and network. With that in mind, let’s compare: EDR vs MDR vs XDR – what are their differences, how do they enhance cybersecurity, and what’s best for your business?
Why Does Threat Detection Play a Vital Role in Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is more than just reacting to attacks and malware when they occur; it requires proactive detection and defense against cyber threats so businesses can safeguard their networks, data, and systems. Threat detection plays a key role in this, as it helps IT and security teams identify potential vulnerabilities and attacks early on, enabling them to address risks before they are exploited.
Threat detection monitors endpoints and networks for suspicious behavior, unpatched vulnerabilities, and other signs of cyberattacks, then alerts IT teams when it detects anything. This approach to cybersecurity can reduce the risk of a breach, as it keeps teams agile and responsive as soon as there’s a sign of danger. This is also important for IT compliance, as most security regulations require proper endpoint/network protection and management to keep threats at bay and maintain a full view of the security environment.
EDR, MDR, & XDR: Understanding the Core Threat Detection Technologies
With that in mind, let’s examine EDR vs MDR vs XDR and see how each of them works. Each one is a valuable tool for threat detection and mitigation, empowering IT teams to detect and respond to security threats in real-time, but how each one works varies.
Endpoint Detection and Response
EDR monitors endpoint activity and uses powerful analytics to identify suspicious behavior. This provides visibility across endpoints, including remote devices and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which makes it an invaluable tool for businesses with remote/hybrid workers and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies.
EDR solutions can analyze large amounts of data, identify potential threats and signs of a breach, generate alerts, and provide mitigation responses for IT teams, keeping remote endpoints safe.
Managed Detection and Response
MDR is a Security-as-a-Service offering that adds a human element to threat detection. MDR services employ dedicated security professionals who can review and address security threats that automated solutions might miss, making it a flexible and intelligent approach to network and endpoint security.
Because actual security experts are involved with MDR services, they can investigate and address security events, while proactively hunting threats and identifying false positives.
Extended Detection and Response
XDR expands threat detection across endpoints, networks, the cloud, and other services. This takes traditional EDR solutions and goes further, making it a popular choice for hybrid cloud environments and organizations with complex, distributed ecosystems.
XDR solutions can detect a large number of threats across endpoints, networks, and cloud services, using context-based analytics, endpoint telemetry, and log data to investigate thoroughly. From there, it can prioritize risks, generate alerts, and provide recommendations and guidelines for addressing the threats it finds.
EDR, MDR, and XDR: Key Differences in Threat Protection
The next question is: what’s the difference between EDR, MDR, and XDR? While each one is designed to detect and respond to threats, they take different approaches to achieve similar security goals.
While each one provides detection and response capabilities, EDR is focused on managing endpoint threats, whereas XDR covers a wider area, including networks and cloud services. MDR, on the other hand, is a managed service, so it’s more flexible and can be customized to an organization’s security needs. Yet this also means its coverage will vary by vendor; some may only offer endpoint protection, while others can provide a more holistic coverage.
EDR is effective at identifying unknown threats and provides clear, comprehensive endpoint visibility, so it’s a powerful tool for protecting multiple devices. However, its limited visibility means that businesses that need protection from network and cloud-based threats will need to invest in another solution alongside their EDR platform.
XDR can be a useful option for organizations looking for a holistic security solution. Yet because it covers so much, it generates a large number of alerts that can be harder to prioritize, and often requires extensive time and specialized skills to manage.
MDR is typically the most flexible option, since it has real people assisting with your cybersecurity. This also makes it more easily scalable and frees up time for in-house security teams, and the access to human expertise can’t be overlooked. At the same time, this also means MDR solutions will vary significantly between providers, since they’ll have very different on-staff agents, so it’s essential to carefully evaluate each provider’s coverage, functionality, and expertise.
Choosing the Right Threat Detection Solution
Between EDR, MDR, and XDR, how can you know which is right for your business? As each offering has its benefits and drawbacks, it’s up to each organization’s decision-makers to evaluate their needs and determine what works best for them.
Consider the following when looking at EDR, MDR, and XDR solutions:
Size and scalability: Consider the size of your business and network. If you have a large and complex environment, then the human element of MDR might be beneficial. Similarly, if you use cloud-based platforms and services, XDR might be right for you. It’s also important to make sure you find a scalable offering that can grow with your business as you expand and add endpoints.
Budget: Shopping around for different security solutions also means comparing prices and finding the greatest value. Consider your IT security budget and find a solution that offers all the features and protection you need within your price range.
Security needs: Of course, it’s essential for a security solution to meet your security needs, so consider what you need to protect. If you have an endpoint-heavy environment, for instance, then EDR or XDR might be preferable. This also includes your IT compliance requirements, such as GDPR, SOC 2, and HIPAA compliance; make sure you pick a solution designed to meet your regulatory needs.
Resources: Businesses have different IT resources, and that will impact what solution suits them best. For instance, if you have a leaner IT team, you might benefit from MDR services and the human expertise they bring. On the other hand, if you have a skilled team of your own, they may be able to manage the complexity of XDR solutions.
Keeping these factors in mind will help you find the right solution for your company.
Enhance Threat Detection with Splashtop’s Security Add-Ons
Strengthen your endpoint protection with Splashtop’s integrated EDR and MDR add-ons powered by Bitdefender GravityZone and CrowdStrike Falcon. These integrations bring leading threat detection and response capabilities directly into the Splashtop AEM console, giving IT teams greater visibility and faster response to potential attacks.
With Bitdefender GravityZone, you can enable continuous monitoring, advanced threat analytics, and automated or guided remediation. Bitdefender also offers a managed detection and response (MDR) service that provides 24/7 human-led investigation and threat hunting to complement your in-house security team.
The CrowdStrike Falcon integration delivers real-time endpoint visibility and powerful detection through a lightweight agent. Within Splashtop, you can view high-level threat summaries, link directly to the Falcon console for deeper analysis, and maintain unified endpoint oversight. The integration supports Bring Your Own License (BYOL) and is currently rolling out to customers.
Together, these add-ons extend Splashtop AEM’s security capabilities by combining automated endpoint management, real-time patching, and industry-leading EDR and MDR protection within one platform. This enables organizations of any size to detect and respond to threats quickly, maintain compliance, and strengthen their overall cybersecurity posture.
Want to experience it firsthand? Start your free trial of Splashtop AEM today.
