According to Gartner, managed detection and response (MDR) vendors provide services to companies and organizations that aim to improve the way they detect threats, respond to incidents, and monitor their IT assets continuously.

What is Managed Detection and Response?

Managed detection and response is a service that arose from the need for organizations, who lack the resources, to be more cognizant of risks and improve their ability to detect and respond to threats.

Different companies offer their own set of tools and procedures in detecting and responding to threats. However, all managed detection and response offerings share the following characteristics:

1. MDR is more focused on threat detection, rather than compliance.
2. The services are delivered using the provider's own set of tools and technologies, but are deployed on the users’ premises. The technology stack often deals with host- and network-based solutions. The provider will be responsible for managing and monitoring these tools. The tools are placed to guard Internet gateways and can also detect threats that have passed traditional perimeter security tools. The techniques providers use may vary: some rely solely on security logs and others use network security monitoring or endpoint activity to secure your network.
3. Managed detection and response relies heavily on security event management and advanced analytics.
4. While some automation is used, managed detection and response usually involves humans to monitor your network round the clock. Humans also do analysis of security events and alerting the customer. Customers can expect to have direct interactions with the analysts rather than relying on a portal or a dashboard when it comes to alerting, investigating security events, case management, and other activities.
5. Managed detection and response service providers also perform incident validation and remote response. This means if you need to identify indicators of compromise, reverse engineer a piece of malware, or do some sandboxing, you can rely on your service provider for all these things. You can even consult with them on how to remedy or contain security vulnerabilities.

Managed Detection and Response vs. Managed Security Services

Managed detection and response may sound similar to managed security services but there are some distinct differences between the two, including:

• Coverage. Managed security services can work with different types of event logs and contexts. The customer decides which of their security data is sent to the MSSP. With managed detection and response services, they only work with event logs that their own tools provide.
• Compliance reporting. If you need compliance reporting, go for a managed security service, as managed detection and response services rarely do compliance reports.
• The human touch. One of the upsides of managed detection and response offerings is that you get more human interaction with analysts. Managed security services rely on portals and e-mail rather than direct communication.
• Incident response. With managed detection and response, you only need a separate retainer if you want on-site incident response. Remote incident response is usually included in what you pay for the basic service. This is not true for many managed security services, where you need separate retainers for both onsite and remote incident response.