Attackers and Network Detection & Response

Attackers now have widespread access to what were previously nation-state level tools designed to evade specific security tools. NDR solutions provide an extra layer of security against both sophisticated network attacks and highly organized threat actors.

SIEMs have blind spots, and endpoints detection capabilities can be evaded or disabled by a determined adversary. Both SIEM and endpoint tools struggle with detecting adversaries that are not specifically malware-based, such as lateral movement using stolen credentials.

With NDR systems, after a threat is detected, rules are applied to the analytic result to contextualize knowledge of an organization and its threat landscape. This approach further adjusts the initial risk score of an alert by determining whether the alert is indeed a high priority or if the alert can be downgraded in severity based on contextual enrichment.

Network traffic is massive and pervasive. The sheer amount of network metadata, protocol logs, and network artifacts makes it extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible, for an adversary to hide their activities across or disable an entire network.

Many IoT devices are either too tiny, too many to manage at scale, or simply too old and do not have the ability to run endpoint security software or analytics. NDR enables organizations to protect these devices by analyzing their network activity without the overhead of having to manage individual device software.

High-maturity clients use NDR and other network-based technologies as one of the layers in their SOCs, alongside endpoint-, log- and cloud-based technologies for threat visibility.

NDR Network Detection & Response

Network Detection & Response is now considered an indispensable means of securing corporate networks.

What is Network Detection & Response?

NDR (network detection and response) is a solution that adds context to security threats. Features such as network traffic analysis and the real-time inspection of network communications allow NDR solutions to detect and investigate threats, anomalous behaviours and risky activity across all corners of your network. NDR acts as a virtual forensic expert that has the capability to understand the exact scope and peculiarities of a security incident or breach.

NDR solutions harness the strengths and virtually unlimited capabilities of high-end AI, machine learning and deep learning to provide predictive risk analysis. When dealing with large amounts of poorly contextualised alarms, NDR is often a better fit than SIEM.

Capabilities of NDR Solutions

NDR solutions analyse network traffic to detect malicious activity inside the perimeter—otherwise known as the east-west corridor—and support intelligent threat detection, investigation, and response.

Using an out-of-band network mirror port or a virtual tap, NDR solutions passively capture network communications and apply advanced techniques, including behavioral analytics and machine learning, to identify both known and unknown attack patterns. This data can also be used to perform real-time investigation into post-compromise activity and to forensically investigate incidents. While not all NDR solutions decrypt network traffic, the most advanced solutions provide secure decryption capability to help identify threats hiding within encrypted traffic.

What to look for in an NDR solution

Contextual networkwide visibility

Without contextual networkwide visibility, security teams are essentially blind. NDR solutions must provide a comprehensive view into all enterprise devices, entities, and network traffic. They must monitor and analyse all traffic flows in real time and monitor and analyse not only traffic that enters and exits the environment, but also all traffic that moves laterally across the network.

Deploying an NDR tool with context-rich visibility provides a full picture of network activity. Security teams can see which users are on their network, what devices they are interacting with, where they are accessing the network from, and what kind of data they are sharing. This visibility enables them to detect threats and determine their source, propagation paths, and which users have been compromised.

Behavioral, non-signature-based detection techniques

Non-signature-based advanced analytical techniques, such as machine learning and behavioral modeling, establish a baseline of what normal network activity looks like. NDR tools should be able to quickly identify and issue alerts related to suspicious traffic deviating from the normal range that traditional signature-based tools miss.

With nearly 75 percent of all network traffic being encrypted, NDR solutions should also be able to analyse encrypted traffic without decryption and detect threats that attempt to cloak themselves in encrypted traffic.

Accelerated threat response

By combining context-driven, enterprise-wide visibility and advanced analytical techniques, NDR tools can pick up on early signs of attacks, identify unusual remote access, port scanning, and the use of restricted ports or protocols.

Benefits of Network Detection & Response

  • Stay ahead of cyber criminals
  • Move beyond logs and endpoint security
  • Get fewer alerts
  • The truth is in the traffic
  • Protect your IoT devices

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Network Detection and Response?
Network detection and response (NDR) solutions use a combination of non-signature-based advanced analytical techniques such as machine learning to detect suspicious network activity.

Why do you need an NDR solution?
Networks are extending into the cloud and continuously growing in both size and complexity, leading to an unprecedented volume of data traversing the distributed network. NDR solutions solve this problem by collecting telemetry from network devices and applying analytical techniques like machine learning to detect threats that other tools miss.

How does NDR enhance your security?
NDR solutions can:

  • Detect anomalous network traffic that traditional tools miss.
  • Model a baseline of normal network behavior and alert on any suspicious traffic.
  • Monitor all traffic flows in and out of the network.
  • Analyse raw network telemetry in real-time and provide timely alerts.

Speak to one of our security experts for further insights.