An MDR provider can deliver numerous benefits, including:

• Improve your threat visibility across your environment, including hybrid cloud infrastructure
• Eliminate active threats on a 24×7 basis
• Extract more value from your existing security solutions by making them more effective
• Detect and respond to threats more quickly, and with more precision
• Improve your security posture by finding sophisticated threats, including persistent threats and intruders who are embedded in your environment
• Augment your internal security team with additional security professionals

The benefits obtained from using MDR providers are so significant that Gartner estimates 50 percent of organizations will be using MDR services by 2025 and that the market is growing at a rate nearly five times that of other managed security service (MSS) offerings.

Investing in security solutions such as endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM), and security orchestration automation and response (SOAR) platforms is a wise choice. Each of them plays a crucial role in an overall cyber security strategy by generating alerts when they detect suspicious activity in your environment and helping you with threat management.

Often, however, the number of alerts they generate is too large for companies to effectively deal with, especially since most of them are false positives. That makes it difficult for organizations to filter through the alerts and find those that represent credible threats.

A good MDR provider will ingest high value telemetry from your existing security tools, correlate alerts coming from across the environment, eliminate false positives, and zero in on alerts that are indicative of an actual threat. So, an MDR service complements the security tools you already have, helping you parse the alerts they generate so you get more value from them.

Yes. Trustwave MDR can span hybrid cloud environments that include multiple cloud providers as well as on-premises infrastructure. It’s all configured to appear as a single logical environment to Trustwave, so alerts are correlated for investigation context across all of the infrastructure. 

MDR (Managed Detection and Response) ensures you get the maximum value from your security tools and platforms by making sure they deliver on their intended purpose. While having EDR, SIEM, SOAR, and other tools is beneficial, they only provide value if you can actively respond to the alerts and insights they generate. Many organizations struggle here due to a lack of in-house security expertise to monitor alerts 24/7. A reliable MDR provider steps in as an extension of your security team, providing continuous monitoring of your security tools. Top MDR providers also incorporate proprietary threat intelligence and assist with remediating the threats identified by your security tools. Ultimately, the true value of any security tool comes from effectively addressing and mitigating threats, and MDR ensures you fully capitalize on the tools you’ve already invested in.

When evaluating an MDR provider, there are several key attributes to consider as essential benchmarks. These include a solid track record of experience, which is reflected in the number of years in business and the retention rates of security staff. The provider must also have the necessary resources, such as a well-staffed team and multiple security operations centers (SOCs), to ensure 24/7/365 coverage. A global presence is crucial—even if you’re not a global company—because it provides visibility into emerging threats from anywhere in the world. Additionally, an MDR provider with an active threat hunting team is highly valuable, as it proactively searches for threats that might evade detection by traditional security tools. Ideally, these hunters should be capable of identifying both indicators of compromise (IOCs) and indicators of behavior (IOBs).

To assess whether a provider meets these standards, consider asking the following questions:

• How long has the vendor been offering MDR security services?
• How does the vendor attract, retain, and train its staff? What certifications do its security professionals hold?
• Can the provider consistently respond to threats quickly, or are there differences in expertise across SOCs or analysts?
• Does the provider have processes that enhance its expertise beyond individual talent?
• What is the provider’s geographic and industry reach? Does it have global threat intelligence or focus primarily on specific regions or sectors?
• What threat intelligence sources are incorporated into its MDR services? Does it operate its own security research lab?
• Does the vendor handle response actions, and is that included in the service package or offered as an additional cost? How does the vendor ensure compliance with your security policies?
• How well is the provider recognized within the cybersecurity industry?
• Do its supported technologies and platforms align with your existing environment?
• What communication channels are available to interact with the service (email, ticketing, phone, mobile app)?
• What industry certifications and standards does the vendor adhere to for supporting your compliance and maturity objectives?
• Does the vendor offer additional managed services like threat hunting, digital forensics and incident response (DFIR), or consulting?

These questions will help you evaluate the experience, capabilities, and value a potential MDR provider can bring to your security strategy.

The onboarding process can vary significantly between providers, with the best ones offering clear, structured procedures that help clients quickly start seeing value from the service. For example, Trustwave ensures that each client has a dedicated Cyber Success Team to onboard them in 10 days or less, continually optimizing the environment for peak performance and results. We believe our onboarding process is such a key differentiator that we created an e-book to provide a detailed explanation of it.