Why You are Missing the Mark if You Think XDR is Only About Technology

Midmarket organizations face an uphill battle when it comes to cybersecurity. With limited resources and growing threats, it’s challenging to keep pace with larger enterprises that often have more resources dedicated to the cybersecurity function. 

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) has emerged as a powerful way to level the playing field, but a lot of confusion exists about what XDR is, how it differs from traditional cybersecurity approaches, why it’s become so popular, and whether or not it’s the right route to take for specific organizations. 

Like many of the buzzwords in the cybersecurity space, XDR is nuanced. While yes, there are XDR platforms out there, it’s important to note that XDR is not just about the technology – it’s about pairing the right tools with the human expertise necessary to make those tools work. This is especially true for mid-market companies who often lack in-house specialization in specific tools. 

Related resource: Why the Time is Now for CISOs to Advocate for Cybersecurity

What is Extended Detection Response (XDR)?

Gartner describes XDR as a platform-based solution that integrates detection, investigation, and response capabilities of once-siloed tools across a wider range of domains, including an organization’s endpoints, identities (users), cloud applications and workloads, email, and data stores. XDR also unifies and drives efficiency across security operations with advanced cyberattack chain visibility, AI-powered automation and analytics, and broad threat intelligence. At its core, the promise of XDR is centered on delivering unified security threat prevention, incident detection and automated response capabilities for security infrastructure – all in a single user interface. 

XDR is particularly interesting for mid-market companies because its approach leverages automation to create a more proactive and efficient cybersecurity strategy. In other words, it’s the only comprehensive solution that is actually accessible to businesses that aren’t in the enterprise space. 

The XDR market was valued at $1.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 19% between 2024 and 2032. While industry-standard definitions of XDR focus squarely on emerging technologies, the real value for midmarket organizations lies in balancing those tools with the human strategic oversight necessary to make those tools effective according to the organization’s individual needs. Without additional human expertise and ongoing management, XDR technology platforms risk duplicating the shortcomings of traditional approaches. In other words, if you think XDR is only about technology, especially for midmarket companies trying to keep pace with larger competitors, you’re missing the boat.

Why XDR is Needed in Today’s Threat Landscape?

Today, organizations typically store data in the cloud, share information with third-party vendors and employ a fleet of remote workers, all of which make it increasingly difficult to define the traditional “network perimeter”. As a result, endpoints have become the new “perimeter” against cyberattacks. A variety of approaches and technologies have emerged to meet this shift – including endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM), and security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) – all of which work together to monitor and secure the entirety of an organization’s vulnerability.

However, as all of these security technologies emerged, so did data silos, an avalanche of alerts, and a boatload of entirely new challenges.

EDR, for example, places an agent at each endpoint across an organization’s network. The typically large number of endpoints means security teams receive an overwhelming number of individual alerts, translating into an unmanageable amount of unanalyzed data. Teams are left to sort through these alerts with limited context as to which represent an actionable threat, or how to locate and resolve those that are credible – which is a major weight placed on the shoulders of already under-resourced security teams operating in mid-market space. As a result, 54% of professionals ignore alerts worthy of an investigation. 

Enter XDR. The XDR approach involves gathering data from multiple sources – such as email, servers, networks, cloud environments, identity management systems, applications, and endpoints – giving security teams a more comprehensive view. While this means collecting even more data than before, XDR uses advanced analytics, including machine learning algorithms, to process it efficiently. These tools filter out benign activity, identify credible threats, and even automate protective responses. In essence, XDR doesn’t just add more data; it brings the intelligence needed to make sense of it all, reducing the burden on security teams.

Related resource: From Endpoints to Identity: Microsoft’s Approach to Holistic Cybersecurity

XDR is The Best Option, But It’s Not A Silver Bullet

Yes, adopting an XDR approach within your cybersecurity program enables teams to reach deeper into the network, and take a more proactive stance against security threats. Yes, many XDR technology platforms boast fewer alerts, faster event resolutions and lower costs. And yes, with layered monitoring, you can gain greater visibility and control with the ability to move more efficiently on actionable alerts with greater context. As with any automation tool, perhaps the greatest promise is to your cybersecurity team, who can theoretically regain bandwidth as XDR-powered monitoring and analytics boost operational efficiency.

Sounds great, right? Not so fast. 

The reality is, no matter how much processing and analytic power the XDR platform boasts, a sizable amount of maintenance, reasoning, and human expertise is still required to make your XDR technology implementation a success. This is especially true for midmarket organizations who often lack in-house expertise (or bandwidth) to dedicate to setting up and maintaining an XDR solution. 

For example,  businesses often hit roadblocks when trying to integrate their various tools (e.g. Microsoft InTune)  with their XDR solution because they lack the in-depth expertise that’s necessary to properly architect the implementation. 

Related resource: Why Partnering with an MSSP is Crucial for Microsoft InTune Success

Furthermore, without proper integration and configuration, a new “XDR” platform without the right setup will ultimately fall short on delivering the promised land as advertised. 

Consider the following:

• When was the last time you audited your automated security processes?
• Can you confidently state that every member of your security team is fully protected against vulnerabilities?
• Are you confident that your processes are hardened and not vulnerable?
• How comfortable are your security teams with industry-standard automation tooling?

The bottom line? XDR isn’t a silver bullet, and seasoned security professionals can help you select and configure technologies that best complement your existing systems, while ensuring you attain maximum value. And since they are constantly assessing new tools, they can provide advice on staying current.

Extended Detection Response (XDR) vs. Managed XDR (MXDR)

While XDR automates threat detection, without the strategic input of cybersecurity professionals, organizations might struggle to fully understand the impact of automated responses on their unique environment. 

Managed XDR (MXDR) adds the critical layer of human oversight (without having to hire expensive and hard to find  in-house resources). MXDR integrates the capabilities of XDR with human, expert analysis and continuous oversight and management, alongside proactive measures like fine-tuning your systems in real-time to ensure alignment with your organizational needs. 

With MXDR, you get the best of both worlds: the efficiency of automated tools and the strategic input of experienced cybersecurity experts.

Here are some key aspects of the human role in MXDR:

• 24x7x365 Vigilance: Security analysts monitor, analyze, investigate and act on potential threats around the clock to protect the organization and meet compliance requirements.

• Alert Analysis: Security analysts review and analyze the alerts generated by automated systems. Their expertise allows them to distinguish between false positives and genuine threats, ensuring that only significant events are escalated.

• Threat Investigation: Security analysts and threat response teams work with automated systems to investigate complex threats. They use their knowledge to understand the context and nuances of the potential security incidents, which automated systems might miss.

• Refining Detection Rules: Security team continuously refines and updates detection rules to improve the accuracy of threat detection. This ensures that the system adapts to new and evolving threats.

• Strategic Decision-Making: Security analysts make strategic decisions on how to disrupt identified threats by assessing the context and potential impact of threats specific to the organization. This helps them to determine the best course of action, such as taking the appropriate remediation steps and coordinating with other teams to implement them.

• Data Correlation: Analysts correlate data from various sources to get a comprehensive view of the security landscape. This helps in identifying patterns and connections that automated systems might miss.

• System Fine-Tuning: Human experts continuously insights and observations to fine-tune the automated systems by updating detection rules and improving algorithms based on the latest threat intelligence and their own findings. This makes systems more resilient against evolving threats.

How to Make XDR a Winning Strategy

Tip #1 - Be Realistic 

The scale and impact of security threats facing companies are no longer manageable by humans: The average cost of a data breach was $4.88 million in 2024, the highest average on record (IBM). Hackers attack every 39 seconds, on average 2,244 times a day. 

You might think that this makes artificial intelligence (AI) the perfect conduit for handling the gathering and analysis of large datasets. And with tools like Microsoft Copilot for Security coming on the scene, it’s easy to fall victim to the AI hype. 

After all, new AI-driven technologies make it possible for people to maintain unprecedented visibility and control over their networks. Plus, AI can gather and process vast amounts of data across thousands of devices and applications, as well as monitor hundreds of potential attack vectors very quickly. This significantly narrows both the manual effort of cybersecurity teams and the number of critical alerts they need to focus on in their daily efforts.

Relying solely on preset monitoring and automated responses, even if properly configured, however, can have dangerous implications for your organization’s security posture. For instance, human experts can assign a higher level of priority to machine alerts indicative of these patterns of behavior. For greater long-term protection, those same experts would guide you toward implementing a privilege access management tool and help your teams understand core security concepts that would minimize privilege in the environment.

In other words, for all its processing power, the AI itself cannot provide that level of context or strategic intervention for your organization.

Just as a layered approach to monitoring gives greater context to each potential alert, you need to add strategic context to your tactical “data in context” practices. AI can be a tool in your toolbox, but it should not be running the show. Human oversight ensures that your efforts align to build a stronger security posture over time.

Tip #2 - Be Holistic

Much like traditional SIEMs, the efficacy of an XDR solution is determined by the telemetry that it has access to. That’s why it’s important to have a holistic understanding of your organization and the threats facing it. 

Questions to consider:

• Do you understand the full extent of your environment, including the systems, networks, applications and users interacting with data?

• Do you know your organization’s baseline? Will your automation tool?

• How can you evaluate the full context of a threat without a baseline against which to measure it?

An initial evaluation can often reveal shadow IT – servers or other network components an organization wasn’t aware of that would be left unmonitored by a new platform. A thorough analysis of your organization’s threat landscape further helps to establish a baseline for prioritizing alerts and approaches that respond to your specific regulatory requirements, current weaknesses and long-term strategy (including high-level business objectives). Standards like NIST CSF offer a rigorous starting point for evaluating your threat landscape.

Tip #3: Discerning of The Downstream Impact 

When implementing XDR, it’s important to think beyond immediate benefits and anticipate the bigger picture, long-term effects on your business. While the features XDR offers are powerful, blindly turning everything on at once can overwhelm your business – causing it to come to a screeching halt.

• Start by planning ahead before activating XDR capabilities. XDR configurations should be aligned with your business context. Staying proactive prevents unintended consequences.

• Understand the pros and cons. Not every XDR feature is a one-size-fits all solution. You’ll need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each feature to determine whether or not you should turn on a given feature that XDR offers.

• Partner with a trusted team of experts to make better informed decisions. Avertium security specialists can guide you through the complexities of an XDR integration, helping you turn on the right features that fit your business needs.

Tip #4 - Interpretation Can be Tricky – It’s important to look at the broader context

Even the most advanced machine learning algorithms cannot offer the level of interpretation necessary for some areas of threat detection. “Even high-quality machine learning is trained to do a very specific thing. Machines can’t think laterally – so they cannot take a next step outside their predefined actions,” Caiazzo noted. 

As threats become more complex and/or human-like, automation software can’t detect those subtleties. Advanced social engineering attacks via email, for example, can mirror a regular email correspondence so closely that automated systems struggle to filter them.

Penetration testing is another area in which additional interpretation is needed, as automated services can flag false positives and/or miss other key indicators. The automation can be an efficient first step for filtering, but the results require the review and interpretation of a seasoned security analyst.

A lack of human intervention and analysis can have a major impact given the scalable nature of automation. One mistake becomes a thousand, or a million, and will continue to multiply until someone finally flags it.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework supports these efforts, helping to associate tactics with actions that have been taken in the past by bad actors as well as mechanisms that are effective to detect and mitigate against them.

But the bottom line is that human analysts are key here. They can quickly eliminate false positives, escalate incidents, perform advanced analysis and conduct additional threat hunting to close the gap between automated insights and more complex, lurking threats. 

Armed with this knowledge base, analysts can act on a deeper understanding of the ever-changing threat landscape, combining that understanding with the real-time intelligence of the XDR technology stack.

Tip #5 - You Have the Alert. Now What? Leverage XDR to Continuously Tune Your Systems to Better Serve You

It’s also important to keep in mind that even with the additional filtering offered by XDR technologies, there will still be a high number of alerts to sort through, particularly when you first implement a stack. Alerts continually require additional analysis and platforms need additional tuning according to your organization’s baseline. 

With XDR implemented properly, plus the support of in-house security analysts or an MXDR partner, you can narrow your team’s focus to only those alerts that credibly deserve action. And when you couple that with the help of tactical and strategic roadmaps based on your  organization’s baseline, you have a better sense of which actions are most important (and can track progress more effectively.)

Also, remember that some requirements and issues can, and will, outstrip the skillset of your team and call for additional professional consulting. Furthermore, automations can and will fail. The on-call support of managed and professional services adds peace of mind and helps protect against coverage gaps or supplement bandwidth and knowledge in an emergency situation.

Get the Benefits of the XDR Stack – Without the Shortcomings

A technology stack alone cannot fulfill the proactive promise of an XDR approach to cybersecurity. Why? Because the best technical approach is not automatically the socially ideal, recommendable one.

Even with the most robust XDR solution, without the human expertise (with an MXDR platform) necessary to think strategically and respond creatively to security insights across your network, you run the risk of replicating the shortcomings of traditional approaches with XDR technology. Namely, you could be left with a number of unactionable alerts, or another “new shiny tool” that you can’t seem to extract any meaningful value from. Only this time, the negative consequences of inadequate or inappropriate responses can rapidly multiply, if they’re automated. For midmarket businesses, the consequences of misconfigurations or improper responses are even more critical, as they may lack the internal capacity to quickly recover from security incidents.

But what if you could combine best-in-class technologies with human expertise to create a comprehensive approach that captured the benefits of the stack without the shortcomings?

Avertium broadens the definition of XDR by offering an Assess-Design-Protect approach in partnership with Microsoft MXDR, that helps customers address the full spectrum of threats they face. Rather than taking the typical tools-first approach of security providers, we use our broad experience and experience to solve complex cybersecurity problems by leveraging best-in-class toolsets. 

Before fully embracing MXDR, Avertium helps midmarket businesses assess their current security infrastructure, prioritize areas for improvement, and design a roadmap for success. We start with a health check, centering your organization’s baseline and creating an organized effort to heighten your security posture. By employing certified expertise and broad experience bolstered by carefully selected technology, analysts can sort through alerts, eliminate false positives, analyze and deliver you actionable alerts in context. And with our combined managed and professional service offerings, you can develop the strongest tactical defenses within a long-term cyber strategy.

Together, Microsoft’s MXDR solution and Avertium’s expertise provide a comprehensive security approach that grows with your business and adapts to new challenges.

Let’s get started. Discover how Avertium can help your business stay one step ahead with MXDR.

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