Best NDR Solutions

What is NDR?

Network detection and response (NDR) is an approach to cybersecurity that uses an organization’s network traffic to identify and respond to potential threats. Using advanced detection mechanisms, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, network detection and response systems monitor traffic in near real time and then provide actionable insights that enable security professionals to mitigate serious threats. By enhancing an organization’s ability to both detect and respond to threats, NDR reduces the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Network detection and response systems continuously collect and analyze network traffic data, then use a combination of tools to identify known threats, abnormal patterns, or other signs of malware infection. Many NDR systems include tools for behavioral analysis, which allow the system to establish a baseline of “normal” network behaviors, enabling them to recognize deviations indicative of potential security threats.

Network detection and response is different from many other traditional security tools because it combines multiple capabilities. Most NDR systems do include traditional security measures, such as those found in an intrusion detection system (IDS), but they also provide organizations with more modern technologies that are equipped to identify emerging threats.

By pairing both classic and modern detection methods with other features, such as threat hunting interfaces, NDR enables an organization to practice a much more proactive and well-rounded security strategy.

Do I need NDR?

As an advocate for network detection and response solutions, we would argue that the answer to that question is “yes”. NDR is an incredibly effective threat detection and response solution, and for most mature organizations there is a lot of value in the level of visibility NDR can provide. Realistically, the answer will vary for each organization. For those evaluating different network detection and response solutions to see which might be a fit for their organization, consider looking for the following characteristics:

• Sophisticated detection
• Transparent, explainable results with evidence
• High-fidelity response triggers
• Guided threat hunting
• Openness and extensibility
• Complete data sovereignty

We found that these six traits are the signs of a mature and effective network detection and response solution. When evaluating whether a particular NDR is a good fit for your organization, you should ensure that it has these qualities.

What is the purpose of NDR?

The purpose of NDR is to provide optimum network visibility. The best NDR solutions leverage the information available on the network, giving the organization a greater understanding of what is happening in their network infrastructure. There are three key benefits to this increased visibility:

• Early Threat Detection: By maximizing network visibility, the organization is enabled to detect malicious activities and indicators of compromise (IOCs) at their earliest stages. Network traffic holds the information needed to identify abnormal behaviors, suspicious communication patterns, and unauthorized activity. This early detection allows security teams to promptly respond and mitigate threats before they can cause significant damage or exfiltrate sensitive data.
• Rapid Incident Response: With greater network visibility comes real-time monitoring and analysis of network traffic, enabling organizations to respond swiftly to security incidents. Security teams need clear visibility into network activities to identify the scope and impact of an incident, trace its origin, and take immediate action to contain and remediate the threat. Timely incident response minimizes the potential damage, reduces downtime, and helps security teams restore normal operations quickly.
• Comprehensive Threat Analysis: Expanded network visibility allows for in-depth analysis of network traffic, helping organizations understand the context, nature, and scope of potential threat proliferation. By examining network communication patterns, traffic flows, and data exchanges, security teams can identify malicious behavior, detect malware infections, uncover hidden threats, and gain valuable insights into the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by attackers. This comprehensive threat analysis helps security teams develop effective countermeasures and improve defenses.

What is NDR used for?

NDR security tools are used to enhance an organization’s cybersecurity by actively monitoring and analyzing network traffic to detect and respond to threats. This is done by solving the following challenges:

1. Advanced Threat Detection: Traditional security measures often struggle to detect advanced and evolving threats. NDR employs advanced analytics, machine learning, and behavioral analysis to identify anomalous patterns and behaviors. This allows for the early detection of sophisticated threats like zero-day exploits and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
2. Visibility and Context: NDR provides comprehensive visibility into network activities, helping organizations understand what is happening within their networks. This visibility includes insights into user behavior, device interactions, and application usage, offering context that is crucial for effective threat detection and response.
3. Real-time Network Monitoring: NDR security tools operate in real-time, enabling organizations to monitor network activities continuously. This real-time capability reduces the "dwell time" of threats—the duration a threat goes undetected within the network—minimizing the potential impact of security incidents.
4. Insider Threats: NDR is effective in identifying unusual user behaviors that may indicate insider threats or compromised accounts. By monitoring user activities and setting baselines for normal behavior, NDR security tools can detect deviations that may signify malicious intent or unauthorized access.
5. Improving Incident Response Time: NDR facilitates rapid incident response by automating certain actions and providing timely alerts to cybersecurity teams. This quick response time is crucial for preventing the escalation of security incidents and minimizing the damage caused by a breach.
6. Adaptability to Evolving Threats: The cybersecurity landscape is dynamic, with new threats emerging regularly. NDR's adaptive nature, leveraging mechanisms such as machine learning and updated threat intelligence, allows organizations to stay ahead of evolving threats by dynamically adjusting to new attack vectors and tactics.
7. Reducing False Positives: NDR security tools employ sophisticated analytics to reduce false positives, ensuring that security teams focus on genuine threats rather than spending time investigating benign events. This enhances the efficiency of cybersecurity operations.

What is a network detection and response tool?

A network detection and response tool is essentially a method or system used to perform an NDR function. The tools included in an NDR system can determine how that NDR examines network traffic and the outcome of that examination. The following network detection and response tools are common in many, but not all, NDR systems:

• Deep Packet Inspection: Some NDR systems perform real time capture and analysis of network traffic to extract metadata, understand communication patterns, detect potential threats, identify anomalies, and log activity.
• Behavioral Analysis Engines: NDRs use machine learning and behavioral analysis to establish baselines of normal network behavior and detect deviations that may indicate malicious activities.
• Threat Intelligence Integration: Competent NDR solutions integrate with third-party threat intelligence feeds to enhance detection capabilities by maintaining up-to-date information about known threats and indicators of compromise.
• Network Forensics: Network forensics tools assist in investigating security incidents by analyzing historical network data, helping security teams understand the scope and impact of a potential breach.
• Automated Incident Response: Most NDR systems can trigger predefined automated responses to security incidents, allowing for quick containment and mitigation of threats.
• Vulnerability Discovery: Some NDRs claim to identify and assess vulnerabilities within the network that could be exploited by attackers, contributing to proactive threat mitigation.
• Threat Hunting: A threat-hunting platform uses data collected by the NDR to filter through network traffic and identify user-selected threats, suspicious behaviors, or anomalous activities.

What is an NDR solution?

A network detection and response solution is a set of NDR tools packaged into a single software product. The best NDR solutions offer sophisticated detection methods, transparent results with evidence, and high-fidelity response triggers. Additionally, the best NDR solutions will be open and extensible, allowing organizations to easily integrate with other security systems like SIEM, SOAR, EDR, and XDR.

NDR solutions actively and continuously scan network traffic and then use a variety of detection methods to identify and respond to potential threats in real-time, offering a dynamic defense mechanism against cyberattacks. Then, an NDR solution will often categorize and prioritize incidents, enabling security teams to address the most critical issues promptly. Additionally, network detection and response solutions generally include the ability to automate response actions or send notifications to the organization’s security team.

NDR is only part of the cybersecurity puzzle. Whenever possible, organizations should strive for a comprehensive security strategy that leverages multiple different security tools and systems. Network detection and response is highly effective at monitoring threats at a network level, but it does not address every single security need.

What is an IDS / IPS on a network?

An IDS/IPS (intrusion detection / prevention system) is a network security tool that monitors network traffic for known malicious, suspicious, or unwanted activity. It is impossible to discuss NDR security without also addressing IDS security. IDS functions by checking the network traffic against a set of rules or signatures. When traffic matches a signature, the IDS issues an alert.

It is important to note that there are some problems with traditional IDS measures:

• Alert overload: IDS is known for issuing too many alerts, leading to alert fatigue and false positives. This is because IDS will alert on any traffic that matches a signature, without any additional information on whether or not that alert signals truly malicious or potentially harmful activity. With IDS detection, attacks take too long to detect or are missed entirely.
• Insufficient attack visibility: Despite providing robust visibility into the network, IDS has very limited threat detection and visibility of cloud workflows, lateral movement, encrypted communications, and anomalous activity. This causes critical attack signals to routinely be missed by IDS.
• Lack of context: IDS does not include valuable alert context, requiring additional resources and more time to see the full story behind a potentially malicious alert. This decreases response times as analysts need to investigate every single alert.

Despite these challenges, IDS is still an incredibly powerful and popular network security tool. It continues to be used in many organizations, and IDS signature-based detection methods are commonly included in many network detection and response platforms.

What is the difference between IDS/IPS and NDR?

Both NDR and IDS/IPS function by monitoring network traffic, but the difference between the two security systems lies in their approach to how threats are detected using network traffic data.

IDS/IPS is reactive, relying on a limited database of known threats and vulnerabilities to stop malicious traffic from entering or leaving the network. NDR is proactive, emphasizing the early detection and response to security incidents. IDS/IPS does not have the advanced functionality of NDR, however many NDRs include IDS signature-based detection methods.

IDS simply issues an alert anytime network traffic matches a signature for a known attack signal. This means it is not only unable to detect novel threats, but it also cannot detect more nuanced or weak attack signals like those found in unauthorized user activity, anomalous network activity, malware beacons, or homoglyphs.

Alternatively, NDR includes functionality that filters events from various sources into actionable alerts with context. It also includes more advanced detection methods built with machine learning and artificial intelligence in order to detect the more nuanced attack signals that are missed by IDS. NDR will typically also include other useful features, such as interfaces for threat hunting.

So, what is the best NDR solution?

The best NDR solution is whichever solution best fits into your organization’s unique needs. We recommend first determining whether NDR is right for your organization, and then begin evaluating your options.

If you are ready to learn more about what NDR can do for your organization, book a demo with one of our experts.