What is endpoint detection and response (EDR)?

Relying on firewalls and antivirus tools may offer basic protection, but they fail to defend against today’s advanced threats targeting the growing number of connected endpoints. As cybercriminals evolve their tactics, unsecured endpoints remain a top entry point for ransomware, data exfiltration, and persistent threats, especially in hybrid and remote work environments.

That’s where endpoint detection and response (EDR) can play a key role. EDR delivers real-time visibility, automated threat response, and forensic-level data to help managed service providers (MSPs) and internal IT teams stop attacks before damage occurs.

In this blog, we’ll break down what EDR is, how it works, and why it’s a critical part of a modern cybersecurity strategy for MSPs. You’ll learn the core benefits of EDR, how it supports compliance and threat hunting, and how managed detection and response (MDR) extends EDR with 24/7 monitoring, expert threat analysis, and faster incident response across client environments.

Key takeaways

• EDR provides continuous monitoring, threat detection, and automated remediation for devices such as laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices.
• EDR offers greater visibility and proactive protection compared to traditional antivirus solutions by analyzing behavioral data and isolating threats in real time.
• For IT teams, EDR reduces response time, supports remote work security, expands cybersecurity offerings, and helps mitigate risk across client infrastructures.
• When selecting an EDR solution, consider ease of implementation, support options, integration with existing tools, cloud-based capabilities, and cost-effectiveness.

Combining EDR with MDR and security operations center (SOC) services helps deliver complete endpoint protection and strengthens overall security posture for clients.

What is endpoint detection and response?

Endpoint detection and response (EDR), sometimes called endpoint threat detection and response (ETDR), is a cybersecurity solution that continuously monitors endpoint activity to detect, investigate, and contain threats in real time. EDR tools collect telemetry, such as file access, process behavior, and network connections, to identify suspicious behavior and take automated action to stop the spread of an attack.

An endpoint refers to any device that connects to a network and can serve as an entry point for cyberthreats, including:

• Laptops and desktops
• Smartphones and tablets
• Workstations and on-premises servers
• Internet of Things (IoT) devices
• Virtual machines and cloud-hosted endpoints

As organizations grow and adopt more remote and hybrid infrastructure, managing endpoint risk becomes more complex. Every new device increases the attack surface and requires visibility, threat detection, and rapid response capabilities.

For MSPs and IT teams, EDR enables streamlined threat containment, root cause analysis, and faster recovery. It also acts as a critical layer within broader security solutions such as MDR, which adds human threat hunting and 24/7 monitoring, and extended detection and response (XDR), which expands visibility across cloud, identity, and network systems.

By leveling up endpoint detection and response, MSPs can enhance cybersecurity service offerings and protect clients against evolving endpoint-based threats.

How endpoint detection and response works

EDR solutions work by continuously monitoring and analyzing activity across all endpoint devices, such as laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices, to detect, investigate, and respond to threats. These tools collect endpoint telemetry in real time, including details about active processes, file access, user logins, device configurations, and system changes.

EDR tools are designed to distinguish between normal system behavior and suspicious or malicious activity. Common events monitored include:

• Processes running on a device
• File names opened, read, or modified
• Logged-in users and access attempts
• Device connections and network traffic

In addition to routine activity, EDR tools are trained to identify anomalies and high-risk behaviors such as:

• Unknown or unauthorized processes
• Unusual spikes in endpoint activity
• Abnormally large data transfers
• Suspicious outbound connections or command-and-control activity

The EDR process typically includes:

• Agent installation and monitoring: EDR agents are deployed on endpoints to begin data collection immediately.
• Behavioral analytics and machine learning: EDR tools analyze data in real time to flag deviations from known good behavior.
• Incident detection and forensic tracking: If an attack is detected, the system identifies the source, method, and timeline of the breach.
• Automated containment and remediation: Threats are isolated, such as disconnecting the device or terminating a malicious process.
• Security team alerting and investigation: IT administrators or MSP security teams receive detailed alerts for manual review and incident resolution.

By operating silently in the background, EDR ensures ongoing protection without disrupting end users, giving MSPs and IT teams the tools needed to detect advanced threats and respond with speed and precision.

EDR vs. MDR vs. XDR: What’s the difference?

As cybersecurity threats grow in complexity, many MSPs and IT teams are evaluating how EDR fits alongside other solutions such as MDR and XDR. While these acronyms are often used interchangeably, each delivers a different level of visibility, coverage, and response capability.

EDR: Endpoint detection and response

EDR focuses on monitoring, detecting, and responding to suspicious activity at the endpoint level, such as desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and servers. It provides real-time behavioral analysis, threat containment, and forensic data collection, making it far more advanced than traditional antivirus. While antivirus software relies on known signatures, EDR uses machine learning and behavior-based analytics to stop zero-day threats and fileless attacks.

MDR: Managed detection and response

MDR builds on EDR by adding 24/7 monitoring, threat intelligence, and access to a team of cybersecurity experts, such as the ConnectWise SOC, who actively investigate and respond to incidents. MDR is ideal for MSPs and businesses that don’t have the resources to manage security operations in-house. With MDR, threats detected by EDR are escalated, analyzed, and resolved by a dedicated security team, reducing the burden on internal IT staff.

XDR: Extended detection and response

XDR takes EDR a step further by integrating data across multiple layers of the IT environment, including endpoints, networks, cloud workloads, identity systems, and email. XDR correlates telemetry from these sources to deliver a unified view of threats and streamline investigation. It enhances detection accuracy by identifying patterns across systems that may appear benign in isolation but are malicious when connected.