The online world is rife with fresh cyber threats that are becoming smarter, faster, and more challenging to detect, making MXDR cybersecurity solutions increasingly vital. New risks mean IT security teams need a clear understanding and oversight of every aspect of a company’s IT environment, from staff devices to external locations where company data may be stored. Essentially, all areas of an organisation’s digital systems and data need to be carefully monitored and secured.

IT security managers are under pressure to protect businesses from all evolving threats, but according to Mike Fry, infrastructure data & security solutions director at Logicalis UK&I, the lack of security resources is a major obstacle. It’s a story as old as cybersecurity – more complex threats, in greater number, and the expectation that an organisation can be protected with a static, or even reducing, budget.

“While you may have tools for certain areas, like endpoint protection, you might still have blindspots to unknown security flaws elsewhere. Even when running multiple tools at once, limited integration and visibility of each other can cause alert overload and create important gaps in protection.”

Fry says that cyber threat alerts may be missed due to an overload of information. This is the danger of multiple tools, each of which has its own notion of callibration: what’s safe, what isn’t, and what should and shouldn’t raise a red flag.

“When those tools flood you with information and notifications, it can be overwhelming and lead to fatigue or missed alerts of major threats to the network.”

The problem of information overload stems not from the volume of potential threats that may face an organisation, but from every priority being considered ‘top priortiy’. MXDR hopes to be a solution to the problem of cybersecurity professionals hearing too many cries of “wolf!”

According to Fry, a “unified approach to automated security” in the form of internal IT plus managed extended detection and response (MXDR) is one solution. Deploying MXDR to cover off the entire IT ecosystem is key to peace of mind and improving overall protection.

Extended detection and response (XDR) is a security solution that works as a single, integrated system. Its main prerogative is to detect and respond to cyber threats in real time across a range of areas in an organisation’s IT environment, like communication (emails and messaging), endpoints (laptops and phones), cloud-based services, and a company’s networks.

As a result, XDR can improve security and streamline any response to possible threats, ensuring all blind points are visible. In turn, this helps IT security teams to detect threats faster and understand particular risk areas and vulnerabilities more carefully. Yet deploying XDR could be seen as ‘just another tool’ in a toolbox that’s already overwhelming an under-resourced IT department.

Security teams need to focus on threats they consider have the potential for the most damage, and comparing different threat level considerations from multiple vendors, plus the possibility that not all the bases are being covered is enough to give most CISOs a headache when it comes to managing security risks – and being held responsible in the event of an incident.

AI and machine learning, alongside remediation suggestions, can also improve the speed of responding to threats, and make the threat categorisation process more effective, according to Fry.

Security teams will evolve as cyberattacks become more advanced, yet balancing the day-job of protecting the enterprise with keeping educated as to the latest attack vectors means something has to give. Currently, many IT security professionals are playing catch up, strengthening their defence skills as and when they can, and ekeing out resources to combat increasing cyber threats. Nevertheless, Fry says that security staff can stay ahead of cyber threats through certain measures, whether that’s using MXDR or keeping cybersecurity functions in-house.

“Using AI and machine learning tools working in tandem can help close skills gaps and keep evolving threats at bay,” he said.

MXDR can provide a variety of benefits; in some cases access to a Security Operations Centre(s) that runs 24/7. This can give IT security managers access to experienced analysts and real-time monitoring. Most importantly, this solution helps reduce the time and resource pressures on in-house teams, and can compensate for an understandable lack of specific skills in teams that are struggling to hire qualified staff.

Fry says that security managers collaborating with a managed security provider is the next logical step. “Partnering with a managed security provider takes the burden off you and your IT security team. It gives you clear visibility, faster resolution and fewer sleepless nights. No more juggling tools. No more missed alerts.”

A managed service provider specialising in cybersecurity can offer guidance and support for IT security teams, whether that’s for sourcing the right solutions and security platforms, providing consultancy, or being the friendly expert at the end of the phone in the event of a potential incident.

With the adage that it’s always a case of when a security issue, not ‘if’, organisations may wish to look to a new breed of outsourced security specialists to protect their most precious assets.