Why It’s Critical to Demo Both the Technology and the Team Before Selecting an MDR Solution

March 9, 2023

The cost of a cybersecurity breach can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars for middle-market businesses to millions for larger organizations. To protect your company from evolving threats and potential cyber attacks, as well as reduce risks, it’s essential to select the right Managed Detection and Response (MDR) partner by evaluating its team and technology. It’s important to take the time to find an MDR partner that can meet your organization’s unique needs, which greatly depends on the quality of their MDR team, as well as their technology and capabilities.

Evaluate the technology and capabilities of potential MDR providers before making an investment

Your assessment of a potential MDR partner should include an evaluation of their cybersecurity strategy, threat detection use case development life cycle, and quality-control processes, as well as verification of incident response protocols, and gaining an understanding of their use of threat intelligence feeds. It’s also crucial that you have a clear picture of a potential MDR partner’s technology stack to make an informed decision that best fits your organization’s cybersecurity needs. With the right MDR solution in place, you can ensure that cybersecurity threats are quickly detected and resolved, minimizing disruption to your organization’s operations.

It’s important to verify that the potential MDR partner operates with best-in-class tools, hardware, and software. Also, ensure that they have well-trained and experienced cybersecurity personnel who understand current cyber threats and vulnerabilities. It’s helpful to ask what processes they use to collect data and generate higher-level alerts. Furthermore, before making a commitment, ask if they are able to take immediate action to quarantine infected systems and eradicate malware in your environment. You should also investigate how complete their monitoring coverage is; this includes a detailed analysis of wider system activity, such as user behavior, unusual use of administrative tools, and unexpected security scans and outbound connections.

Fully protect your business by confirming that MDR candidates have an expert team that can respond to evolving cyber threats

When searching for a potential MDR provider, you should also look at factors beyond an MDR provider’s technology tools and capabilities. An in-depth evaluation and review of your potential MDR partner’s team is a must. Your potential MDR partner’s team should include staff that understand the complexities of cybersecurity technology and the techniques to detect anomalous behavior. The team should have adequate resources to cover cybersecurity areas such as incident response, continuous threat intelligence monitoring, and regular testing.

Your potential MDR partner should also be transparent about how they recruit and train their specialists so you can be confident they have the necessary skills and knowledge to protect your company from cyber attacks. They should have a program that establishes a talent pipeline to maintain access to cybersecurity professionals despite the global shortage.

Ensure that you will have access to your MDR team and continual two-way communications

Your assessment of a potential MDR partner should include verifying that they will hold regular status meetings with you, which is critical to ensure that your organization remains secure. These meetings should provide a platform to review your company’s cybersecurity posture and threat intelligence that is relevant to your company, as well as discuss any open issues and incidents. Your potential partner should offer technical advice on how to respond in the event of a security breach, as well as discuss possible proactive steps that your organization can take to improve your cybersecurity stance.

Schedule an interactive demo to gain insight and understand how a provider combines technology and human expertise

Live cybersecurity demonstrations offer you a valuable opportunity to understand what modern threat detection and response looks like. During an MDR demo, you will see how this type of advanced cybersecurity technology operates in real time. You will learn how your potential MDR partner detects, monitors, and manages various types of cybersecurity threats. The demo is an interactive experience that will allow you to ask questions and get direct answers from subject-matter experts on best practices for cybersecurity management. It also provides  a valuable overview of cybersecurity tools and strategies that can enable your organization to stay one step ahead of malicious actors.

Invest in the right MDR partner with peace of mind by assessing technology and team capabilities

To protect your company from evolving threats, it is essential to have a reliable and experienced Managed Detection and Response (MDR) team working around the clock. Selecting an MDR partner who offers cutting-edge technology and an experienced team with the right skillsets to meet your unique needs will help reduce risks and prevent cyberattacks.

If you’re looking for more information on how to choose the right MDR partner, download our eBook, “How to Evaluate Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Providers,” which lays out key questions to ask during the decision-making process. Asking specific questions as you’re assessing a potential MDR partner will set your expectations and improve your long-term relationship with them.

© Copyright 2023. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Ankura Consulting Group, LLC., its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals. Ankura is not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice.

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