Threat detection and response (TDR) is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution that uses a set of advanced tools, techniques, and technologies to help organisations detect, assess, and respond to potential cyber threats to their IT infrastructure in real time.
Threat detection and response (TDR) uses a combination of advanced tools and innovative best practices to find, identify, and neutralize cybersecurity threats before they cause harm to an organization.
TDR has the ability to monitor network traffic in real time, analyze patterns of activity to detect anomalies before they can be exploited, and identify and eliminate risks to an organization’s IT infrastructure from virtually all forms of cyber threats, including:
- Data breaches
- Ransomware, malware, and spyware
- Phishing campaigns
- Cryptojacking
- Botnet assaults
- Identity threats
- Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks
- SQL code injection attacks
- Cross-site scripting (XSS)
- Insider threats from current and former employees
Using a variety of tools and tactics from intrusion detection systems (IDS) to threat intelligence and security information and event management (SIEM), TDR enhances the ability of security teams to respond to threats in their enterprise environment, complementing proactive cyber risk and exposure management (CREM) approaches to manage and mitigate risk on an ongoing basis.
Why is threat detection and response important?
Organizations face a constant onslaught of sophisticated cyber threats that can infiltrate their systems, compromise their assets, and affect their networks. These threats pose significant risks to businesses, from financial losses and regulatory penalties to causing lasting reputational harm.
Threat detection and response enhances an organization’s security posture by providing real-time visibility into both actual and potential threats. This allows an organization’s security team to take proactive steps to deal with potential threats as swiftly as possible and stop malicious actors from inflicting potentially irreparable damage.
Plus, by making it harder for bad actors to slip into their systems unchecked, TDR helps make sure organizations have the data security and privacy protection measures in place to comply with all relevant requirements and regulations, including GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA.
How does threat detection and response work?
Most threat detection and response platforms employ five main stages of defense: monitoring and analysis; threat detection; threat assessment; threat response; and continuous improvement.
Step 1: Monitoring and analysis
First, TDR continuously monitors and assesses an organization’s entire network 24/7 to look for potential risks or vulnerabilities. It learns their regular patterns and activities and establishes a baseline for how they normally do business.
Step 2: Threat detection
After it has learned to recognize typical IT and network behaviors, TDR analyses the entire enterprise environment on a constant real-time basis to look for any abnormalities that could be signs of a cyber threat. This includes everything from unusually large file transfers or unauthorized login attempts to the use of unauthorized devices or unexpected variations in network traffic.
Step 3: Threat assessment
Once it identifies a potential threat, TDR draws on the latest industry threat intelligence to separate real attacks from false positives and flag any suspicious activity that seems out of place.
Step 4: Threat response
Next, the TDR platform implements a series of automatic actions, alerts, and strategies to respond to the threat quickly and decisively. This can include isolating affected systems, quarantining malicious files, blocking unauthorized access attempts, as well as sending alerts to the people responsible for securing the network that other actions may be needed.
Step 5: Continuous improvement
Finally, the TDR platform uses what it’s learned from the threat to make continuous and ongoing improvements to the organization’s cybersecurity. This reduces the chances of a similar attack happening again while keeping the organization safe from both current and future threats.
A key ingredient in the success of threat detection and response is its ability to use automated responses to detect and mitigate threats as rapidly as possible. In addition, TDR can be integrated seamlessly into existing network, endpoint, and cloud security frameworks. This allows organizations to create a layered security approach that takes full advantage of TDR’s advanced capabilities, without compromising the integrity of their existing cybersecurity infrastructure.
What are the key components of threat detection and response?
As the name implies, the main components of TDR are threat detection and threat response. But those components can be broken down into three distinct parts: threat intelligence and analysis; automated detection tools; and incident response.
Threat intelligence and analysis
First, TDR gathers the latest intelligence about both current and emerging threats from trusted industry sources. This allows it to keep track of new attack techniques and stay one step ahead of bad actors.
Automated detection tools
TDR then uses a variety of automated detection tools and machine learning to correlate, analyze, and synthesize all that vast amount of raw data in real time. This helps it identify, assess, and respond to threats much more rapidly than traditional security solutions.
Incident response plans
Once a threat has been detected, TDR can initiate detailed response plans for any type of incident to isolate, mitigate, or eliminate the threat as quickly as possible.
Incident response plans set out the role and responsibilities of each member of the security team so there are no surprises that could impede their ability to react quickly when an attack occurs. They also include precise instructions for how to identify and analyze an attack, contain or eliminate the threat, and carry out a thorough post-incident recovery.
As a result, incident response plans can dramatically reduce both the time needed to respond to an attack and the amount of damage an attack can cause. They also help response teams learn how to defend against similar threats, making future attacks less dangerous.
A multi-pronged approach
In addition, TDR combines a variety of threat detection and response tools to create a truly multi-pronged approach to threat management. These include:
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR)—automatically correlates data for endpoints and servers across multiple layers of security for faster detection, improved analysis, and quicker response times.
- Extended detection and response (XDR)—uses AI and machine learning models to root out potential adversaries and detect, investigate, and respond to threats.
- Network detection and response (NDR)—protects every element of a network from routers and laptops to smart thermostats and other unmanaged assets.
- Identity threat detection and response (ITDR)—identifies the riskiest and most privileged users and signals alerts for any suspicious activity.
- Email detection and response (EMDR)—extends threat detection and response to include user emails, threat logs, and suspicious behaviors.
- Cloud detection and response (CDR)—protects cloud-based assets like workloads, containers, K8 clusters, and virtual machines.
- Operational Technology (OT) detection and response—provides a holistic overview of OT and Information Technology (IT) environments for better visibility of cyber threats at both the device and network levels.
- Firewall as a service (FWaaS)—offers a cloud-based alternative to traditional on-site firewalls.
- Managed detection and response (MDR)—an outsourced service that monitors for signs of cyberattacks and takes immediate action whenever any threats are detected.
Examples of best practices for effective threat detection and response
The most effective threat detection and response solutions integrate a variety of industry-standard best practices to identify, assess, and respond to threats. These include:
- Continuous monitoring and assessment: Continuous monitoring and assessment of network traffic, data, and endpoints using tools like SIEM, EDR, and XDR is essential for detecting anomalies, pinpointing vulnerabilities, and dealing with threats in real time.
- Training and awareness: While regular training can help security teams deal with cyber threats efficiently and effectively, the worst attacks often happen when regular employees fail to use a strong enough password or accidentally open the wrong email. Raising awareness of cybersecurity and TDR across an organization can mitigate that risk by making sure all employees stay alert, informed, and know what to do (and what not do) to keep the organization safe.
- Regular updates and technology upgrades: Because cyber threats are constantly evolving, it’s imperative for any TDR solution to have access to the latest threat intelligence and technologies. Regular intelligence updates and technology upgrades also improve the accuracy of threat detection and help organizations respond to emerging threats.
How will threat detection and response evolve in the future?
The cybersecurity landscape is changing at a staggering pace. As threats become more sophisticated, threat detection and response will have to adapt to deal with them.
As with almost everything else these days, AI will likely soon play a much more crucial role in virtually every aspect of threat detection and response. For example, AI could help organizations analyze patterns more accurately, adopt zero-trust architecture in their networks, and improve their threat detection success rate. It could also be used to fight fire with fire by countering the AI-driven attacks that are becoming more common in every sector of the economy.
Farther out, new technologies like quantum computing will also likely need to be integrated to enable future TDR solutions to meet new cybersecurity challenges.
Where can I get help with threat detection and response?
Trend Vision One™ Security Operations (SecOps) enables your organization to detect, investigate, and respond proactively with the power of XDR, SIEM, and SOAR. Correlate events across endpoint, server, email, identity, mobile, data, cloud workload, OT, network, global threat intelligence feeds—surfacing the highest priority, actionable alerts, and automating complex response actions. High-fidelity detections show you the entire chain of attack, from root cause to full scope of the incident, while our native and third-party response capabilities leave attackers with nowhere to hide.