Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to hacking threats. Why? One of the obvious reasons has to do with fewer resources to fight cybercrime. With fewer funds to allocate toward CMMC security, it can be difficult to keep up. As with any other business, SMEs are up against a growing number of cyber-attacks that are increasing in sophistication. Today, we’re introducing a platform that helps small businesses deflect cyber threats on time and retain the overview of security posture at all times. It’s called Extended Detection and Response, also known as XDR security.
Considering all the other work and tasks that have to be completed in a day, strengthening cybersecurity can quickly turn into an afterthought. Regardless, proper security against ever-evolving hacking techniques is essential for preventing major financial and reputable harm.
According to Statista, a cyber incident is the main risk for small businesses in 2023. Its repercussions are more damaging and concerning for companies than inflation, energy crisis, trade wars, or natural catastrophes.
So, what is XDR security all about, what makes it essential for IT teams who manage security, and how does it cut costs for small businesses?
What Is XDR Security?
XDR security is the platform that aids teams make sense of the large quantity of data coming from several security tools while also automating responses to known exploits.
The key function of this security solution? Collect, analyze, and correlate security data then organized and shown in one interface.
Another main function is to automatically respond to threats regardless of where within the network they might occur.
As a result, security is simplified. Also, IT departments retain visibility of the state of the security from a single user-friendly dashboard to which they can refer and make informed decisions on how to protect the company.
Closing the Gap in the Security
Most small businesses will have layers of security tools that consist of:
- A firewall to observe and block any unwanted traffic
- Antivirus programs to remove malicious software that managed to get into the system
- Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect remote employees
- Phishing awareness training for all employees within the company
- Insisting on multi-factor authentication and stronger passwords for employees
While this is a good start for building strong security, such companies don’t have a chance when facing zero-day threats and more sophisticated hacking attempts.
This is precisely where XDR security comes in handy.
It gives the company the means, visibility, and comprehensive reports they need to fight more advanced threats that security teams have to mitigate manually.
Providing a Key Asset for Security Teams
Small businesses lack a large security team managed by CISO (short for Chief information security officer). How does XDR security help SMEs get the most out of the IT personnel at the company’s disposal?
Before XDR security, companies would rely solely on security information and event management (SIEM) technology.
The main disadvantage of the old SIEM is that it would bombard the team with too many alters. Many of them would not indicate the high risks. Most would be discarded as false positives.
To fix that, XDR enables teams to manage security from a single interface. Increased visibility in the state of the security provides them with actionable reports and suggestions on how to prioritize tasks.
The tool uses machine learning to analyze the information about the security posture in the context of a company.
This helps it to catch if something out of the ordinary is occurring within the systems. Teams have useful information at hand, such as which parts of the infrastructure are affected and whether the risk is critical (e.g. is there a possibility of endangered sensitive data?)
XDR security boosts the productivity of teams. It allows them to dedicate their time to tasks that matter and reduces fatigue caused by the frequent change of the dashboards.
Being a Cost-Effective Solution for Growing Companies
XDR can cut costs for small businesses by:
- Preventing major cyber incidents that cease work in the company or cause data theft
- Not having to go through the most expensive part of the cyber breach (the recovery time)
The average cost of cyberattacks for small businesses due to the recovery period is between $15,000 to $25,000. This doesn’t include the cost of possible legal action, damaged reputation, or even restoration of the system itself.
For SMEs, the average recovery period is 279 days or just over nine months.
Financial damage and the duration of the recovery period also depend on how long a bad actor has illicit access to the network and whether sensitive user data has been stolen during the attack.
With XDR, small businesses can detect and remove hacking threats faster. This saves them the costs that would otherwise have to be allocated to repairing the network and investigating the crime.
Instead of purchasing multiple solutions that have versatile dashboards, XDR security provides small businesses with the means to respond to cybercrime by relying on the data from the unified security solution. This scales as the business grows and reaches new heights.
Main Advantages of XDR Security
Whether you’re looking for a solution that can improve the speed at which you detect and react to threats or want to help your security team, XDR can be beneficial to your small business.
It’s an essential resource for your small cybersecurity team. It allows them a birdseye view of the complete security posture. Additionally, it organizes data in reports whose insights they can use to strengthen the security or react in time.
For small companies that already have some form of basic protection, XDR offers a more advanced, but also a user-friendly solution with which they can tackle more sophisticated threats.
Finally, XDR security saves on the costs otherwise needed to repair the architecture following the cyberattack or paid during ceased operations.
