🛡️ EDR

Endpoint Detection & Response (with MDR & XDR Options)

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) continuously monitors laptops, desktops, servers, and VDI to detect, investigate, and contain threats in real time. SolveForce designs EDR as part of a Zero-Trust stack—integrated with identity, device posture, network controls, and orchestration—so incidents are found fast, stopped safely, and documented for audits.

Where EDR fits in the SolveForce model:
🔒 Security (Semantics) → Cybersecurity • 👤 Identity → IAM / SSO / MFA
📱 Device Trust → MDM / UEM • 🌐 Access → ZTNA / SASE
📊 Analytics & Automation → SIEM / SOAR • 🖧 East-West → NDR
🔄 Ops → Patch Management • NOC Services

🎯 Outcomes (What a strong EDR program delivers)

  • Rapid detection of malware, fileless attacks, and suspicious behaviors.
  • Containment in minutes (isolate host, kill process, block hash/domain).
  • End-to-end evidence (timeline, artifacts, and actions) for IR and audits.
  • Lower MTTR via automated SOAR playbooks and clear runbooks.
  • Zero-Trust alignment with identity, device posture, and network policy.

🧭 EDR vs. MDR vs. XDR (Spelled out)

TermWhat it meansWhen to choose
EDR — Endpoint Detection & ResponseAgent on endpoints collects telemetry (processes, modules, registry, network), detects threats, and enables remote response.You have a security team running detections and response.
MDR — Managed Detection & ResponseA provider operates 24×7 monitoring, triage, and response on top of your EDR.You need round-the-clock eyes and expertise.
XDR — Extended Detection & ResponseCorrelates endpoint with email, identity, network, cloud telemetry for higher-fidelity detections.You want fewer false positives and cross-domain visibility.

SolveForce can implement EDR-only, EDR + MDR, or XDR depending on your team and scope.

🧱 Core EDR Capabilities

  • Behavior analytics — process trees, script/PowerShell logging, LOLBins detection, in-memory indicators.
  • Ransomware prevention — suspicious encryption patterns, shadow-copy tamper alerts, rapid isolate.
  • Threat intel & hash control — blocklists/allowlists, suspicious publisher detection.
  • Response actions — isolate endpoint, kill/quarantine, registry/file rollback (where supported), collect triage package.
  • Hunt & query — fleet-wide queries (e.g., “who has xyz.dll loaded?”), scheduled hunts with saved results.
  • Forensics — timeline, artifacts, persistence keys, network beacons, exfil domains.

🔒 Zero-Trust Interlock (Identity → Device → Network → Data)

  • Identity: require SSO/MFA for console access; role-based least privilege. → IAM / SSO / MFA
  • Device: MDM/UEM posture gates access (encryption on, EDR healthy, OS version). Non-compliant → quarantine. → MDM / UEM
  • Network: isolate host, apply microseg rules, or route through ZTNA/SASE for inspection. → ZTNA • SASE
  • Data: invoke DLP for suspected exfil; watermark or block uploads. → DLP

🧩 Telemetry & Detection Sources

  • Process & script telemetry (command lines, parent/child relations, AMSI where supported).
  • Kernel/driver events (file, registry, handle operations).
  • Network events (destinations, DNS, TLS SNI, certificate metadata).
  • Persistence & autoruns (services, tasks, WMI, Run keys).
  • User/identity signals (logon type, token operations, privilege escalations).
  • Threat intel (hash/domain/IP feeds; sandbox verdicts).

Correlate with NDR (Network Detection & Response) for east-west visibility and exfil. → NDR

🚨 Response Playbooks (Concrete, repeatable)

Sev-1: Active ransomware behavior
1) Isolate host from network.
2) Kill offending process; revoke tokens; disable scheduled tasks.
3) Block hash/domain; snapshot/dump forensics.
4) Halt propagation via NAC/SD-WAN policy; force reauth via IAM. → NAC • SD-WAN
5) Recover files (restore points/immutable backup). → Backup Immutability

Sev-2: Suspected credential theft (infostealer/DCOM abuse)
1) Expire sessions; force MFA for impacted identities. → IAM / SSO / MFA
2) Rotate secrets (PAM for privileged). → PAM
3) Hunt for lateral movement; tighten ZTNA groups. → ZTNA

Sev-3: PUA/Adware
1) Remove; 2) Add to blocklist; 3) Ticket for user coaching; 4) Close.

All playbooks run via SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation & Response) to cut MTTR. → SIEM / SOAR

🧰 Deployment Patterns (OS & fleet realities)

  • Windows — kernel/ETW visibility; AMSI; script block logging.
  • macOS — system extensions; full disk access consent; notarized builds.
  • Linux — eBPF/auditd/Kprobe visibility; container/daemon sets for servers.
  • VDI/DAAS — persistent vs non-persistent images; update via golden image + post-login health.
  • Servers — exclusion tuning for DB/backup paths; low-impact modes for latency-sensitive hosts.

🧪 Tuning & Noise Reduction (Keep signal high)

  • Golden exclusions for backup paths, hypervisors, DB stores—documented and reviewed.
  • Behavior-first rules (avoid pure hash firehose); use ATT&CK-mapped detections.
  • AIOps in the NOC to dedupe flaps and correlate multi-signal incidents. → NOC Services
  • Hunt calendar (weekly scheduled queries); retire detections that never fire or always false-positive.

📐 SLO Guardrails (Experience & speed you can prove)

MetricTarget (Recommended)Notes
Mean Time To Detect (MTTD)≤ 5 minutes for Sev-1With high-fidelity rules/SOAR
Mean Time To Contain (MTTC)≤ 15 minutes Sev-1Auto-isolation + kill + block
Agent coverage≥ 98–99% endpointsExceptions documented & risked
False Positive Rate≤ 5% of total alertsWeekly tuning loop
CPU/Memory overhead≤ 3–8% / ≤ 300–500 MBPer vendor/feature set
Evidence completeness100% of Sev-1/2 with timeline & artifactsIR/audit-ready

Dashboards live in SIEM, EDR console, and NOC views; weekly reports summarize trends and actions.

🔒 Compliance Mapping (examples)

  • PCI DSS — malware detection, file-integrity monitoring, least privilege, log retention.
  • HIPAA — audit controls, integrity, person/entity authentication.
  • ISO 27001 — A.8, A.12 (ops security), A.16 (incident mgmt).
  • NIST 800-53/171 — SI/CM/IR families; endpoint content and incident handling.
  • CMMC — detection & incident response maturity.

Evidence streams to SIEM/SOAR with incident IDs, actions, and approvals.

✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist

  • Fleet inventory — OS mix, VDI, server roles, privileged endpoints.
  • Use-case priorities — ransomware stop, lateral-movement detection, PII/PHI protection.
  • Integrations — IdP/SSO, MDM/UEM, NAC/SD-WAN, SIEM/SOAR, ticketing.
  • Playbooks — isolate, kill, block, secrets rotate, restore, reauth, notify.
  • Exclusions — DB/backup/AV paths; high-IO workloads.
  • SLOs — MTTD/MTTC, coverage %, FP rate, performance caps, reporting cadence.

🔄 Where EDR Fits (Recursive View)

1) Grammar — underlying links/devices observable via Connectivity
2) Syntax — app & workload delivery patterns in Cloud
3) Semantics — endpoint truth and incident response via Cybersecurity
4) Pragmatics — SolveForce AI triages, enriches, and automates response
5) Foundation — shared terms under Primacy of Language
6) Map — indexed in SolveForce Codex & Knowledge Hub

📞 Deploy EDR / MDR / XDR with Confidence

Related pages:
Cybersecurity • SIEM / SOAR • NDR • MDM / UEM • IAM / SSO / MFA • ZTNA • SASE • Patch Management • NOC Services • Knowledge Hub