Commonly Confused Cybersecurity Terms: Understanding the Acronyms

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a service offered by some cybersecurity providers. It’s similar to managed security services but focuses on detection and response to threats. MDRs are essentially CERTs or Computer Emergency Response Teams for businesses. They monitor your network 24/7 for suspicious activity and alert you when they find it. When an incident occurs, MDRs will also conduct forensic analysis of any compromised computers to provide better remediation steps for you.

There are two main reasons why many businesses choose to have an MDR – one is that this level of service may be cheaper than running your own in-house IT department. The other reason is that many companies can’t hire enough qualified staff to do all their monitoring needs. Hence, they outsource that work to experts who can handle more complicated tasks like managing incident response and compliance with regulations like GDPR.

If you work in cybersecurity, you’ve come across the term XDR. But what is XDR, and how is it different from other detection and response solutions? The significant difference between XDR and existing technologies is that when an incident occurs, there’s a consistent progression of steps taken by the team to ensure that appropriate resources are deployed to best handle the situation as quickly as possible.

In addition to providing fast response times to incidents, organizations also benefit from knowing their response plan ahead of time. By implementing XDR, companies can feel confident they have already dealt with some issues that could arise during a cyberattack.

IDPS are a type of security system that work to detect and prevent cyber-attacks. They are commonly used by businesses and organizations to protect their networks and data. IDPS can be either hardware- or software-based and work by monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity. If an attack is detected, the IDPS will take action to prevent it from happening, such as blocking the offending IP address or issuing an alert to administrators. There are many types of IDPS, including

• firewalls, which act as barriers between private networks and the internet; intrusion prevention systems (IPS), which monitor traffic and block any potentially harmful packets;
• intrusion detection systems (IDS), which provide real-time alerts on possible threats but don’t block them; and
• hybrid IDS/IPS systems.

Endpoint detection and response (EDR) is a term for security products and services that focus on identifying, containing, and eradicating malicious activity on endpoint devices. It typically includes technologies like antivirus programs and firewalls.

Antivirus programs scan the device’s hard drive, memory, boot sectors, and more to detect malware before it can infect or replicate to keep your data safe from cybercriminals. Firewalls are software tools that restrict which applications or services are allowed to communicate with your device to prevent unauthorized access to your private information.

DLP is a set of tools and best practices to prevent sensitive data from being leaked outside an organization. The term is often used interchangeably with data or information leakage prevention. Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) software monitors networks, databases, endpoints, external devices, and content sources for risky behavior that could lead to security breaches or other unauthorized data disclosures.

A subset of this category includes network access control (NAC) systems that check for the existence of malware on any device connecting to a network before allowing it onto the network.

SIEM tools collect and analyze data from multiple sources to give security teams a holistic view of their organization’s security posture. The goal of SIEM is to help identify potential security threats to be addressed before they cause harm. For example, if an employee opens a malware-laden email attachment, the SIEM will track this event and automatically block any future emails with the same malicious code.

In this way, SIEM has proven to be extremely valuable in identifying and stopping cyberattacks, but it can also generate overwhelming amounts of alerts if not configured correctly. It can take up to 70% of IT budgets to manage all the alerts generated by a SIEM tool! One way organizations are trying to combat this problem is by having people only focus on events that align with their areas of responsibility or expertise.

The CISO is responsible for the overall security posture of an organization. This includes developing and implementing security policies, overseeing security awareness and training programs, and managing incident response. CISOs often report to the CIO or CEO.

They may also serve as a member of the company’s executive team. In this case, they provide strategic guidance on data privacy, third-party vendor risk management, insider threat mitigation, and crisis management.

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is information that enables organizations to understand the nature, origins, and timing of cyber threats. This type of intelligence can help an organization assess its vulnerabilities and make informed decisions about how to protect itself. CTI can be gathered from various sources, including open-source information, social media, and commercial intelligence services.

However, the quality of CTI depends on the accuracy and timeliness of the information, as well as the ability of the analysts to interpret and apply it correctly. In other words, the reliability of the intelligence varies by source. In addition, many vendors offer CTI products; some are free or inexpensive with limited capabilities, while others are expensive with extensive capabilities. Therefore, organizations should evaluate their needs and select a vendor based on those needs.