MDR vs EDR vs Antivirus: What's the Difference?

Antivirus stops known malicious files. EDR (endpoint detection and response) detects suspicious behavior on a device and can isolate it. MDR (managed detection and response) adds a 24/7 security team that investigates and responds to what EDR and other tools find. They are layers, not alternatives.

Antivirus

Compares files against a list of known threats and blocks matches. Necessary but no longer sufficient: modern attacks use legitimate tools and brand-new malware that has no signature yet.

EDR

Records what happens on the endpoint (processes, connections, file changes, credential use) and flags patterns that look like an attack, such as a Word document spawning PowerShell or a mass file-encryption event. It can isolate the machine from the network automatically. It also produces a timeline investigators can use afterward. See what is EDR.

MDR

EDR generates alerts; someone has to read them, decide what is real and act, at 2 a.m. on a Sunday. MDR is that someone: a security operations team monitoring your EDR, identity and cloud telemetry continuously, investigating, containing threats and hunting for what the tools missed. See what is MDR.

Which tier do you need?

• Antivirus only: not enough for any business with data worth stealing.
• EDR: the baseline for every business workstation and server today, and a common cyber insurance requirement.
• EDR plus MDR: for any organization without a 24/7 internal security team, which is almost every small and mid-sized business. Insurers increasingly ask for it.

Where the SOC fits

MDR is typically delivered from a security operations center, which may also run SIEM log correlation across your firewall, servers and cloud. See what is a SOC.

Mentis Group includes EDR on every device in Fully Managed IT, with MDR, Cloud MDR and a 24/7/365 SOC available through Enhanced Cybersecurity.

Have a question about your own environment? Schedule a consultation with Mentis Group or call (866) 901-7808.