If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably heard of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) or Managed Threat Response (MTR), or both, and are trying to figure out which is the right technology to choose to keep your organization secure.
I don’t blame you – parsing the differences between the types of managed cybersecurity solutions available to you today can be a lot of work. That’s why I’ve put together this article – to show you how SIEM and MTR are different, and why one may be the better choice for you.
What Is SIEM?
SIEM technology provides a secure cloud service that provides security and operation monitoring to oversee a given business’ security needs. A SIEM solution offers a monitoring service, with adaptive threat protection that identifies active cyber-attacks and provides alerts when they occur.
By integrating intelligence from global threat monitoring feeds, this solution tracks network-based zero-day exploit attempts, drive-by downloads, and advanced malware that routinely bypass conventional firewall and antivirus technologies.
Further features of most SIEM products include:
- Termination of communications with blacklisted or untrusted remote sites.
- Continuous monitoring of and protection against new or abnormal user activity on your networks and systems.
- Real-time notifications of any significant network activity with automatic remedial actions.
What Is MTR?
MTR, a premier offering by Sophos, builds on the monitoring and alert capabilities of SIEM by adding a response system as well. With MTR, not only are you made aware of suspicious activity in your environment, but you also have expert assistance from a Sophos team that will respond in real-time.
MTR enlists expert support from a team of outsourced threat hunters who will:
- Proactively hunt for and validate potential threats and incidents
- Use all available information to determine the scope and severity of threats
- Apply the appropriate business context for valid threats
- Initiate actions to remotely disrupt, contain, and neutralize threats
- Provide actionable advice for addressing the root cause of recurring incidents
Which Is Right For You?
If you are a large corporation that has a 24/7 internal IT team, then you may only need a SIEM solution. It will monitor your network and alert your team when something dangerous is occurring.
However, if you don’t have the resources to compensate and manage a 24/7 cybersecurity team of your own, SIEM won’t be very effective. Who’s going to respond to a SIEM-issued alert at 3:00 AM? This is the core limitation of SIEM.
Businesses that invest in SIEM may try to handle it on their own – and fail. As explored above those operating a business likely don’t have the time or knowledge to properly make use of SIEM. It becomes a wasted investment, and in the end, doesn’t help to enhance security for the business.
That’s why Sophos MTR is the right choice for many small-to-medium-sized businesses like yours. You get both the monitoring service and the expert response team, available 24/7 to respond to alerts as they occur. If you are looking to maximize your investment in a cybersecurity management technology, MTR is the right choice for you.
HRCT Will Deploy Sophos MTR For You
Interested in securing your environment with Sophos MTR?
The HRCT team will help current Sophos customers upgrade their contracts, and new organizations deploy a range of proven Sophos security solutions. Get in touch with our team to start securing your systems.
Click here to get started or call us at (757) 399-3350.
