Why we love Sophos MTR (and you should too!)

Today’s cyber threat landscape is more complex than ever. Cyber-attacks are evolving at a rapid pace, and with new attack vectors emerging almost every day it’s difficult to stay ahead of the game. Over the 2021/22 financial year period, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received over 76,000 reports of cybercrime – an increase of nearly 13% from the previous year.

With this in mind, businesses must adopt a proactive stance towards cyber security if they want to remain secure in today’s digital age. Sophos has made a mark on the endpoint security industry with its innovative solutions and trustworthy commitment to customer satisfaction. The Sophos Managed Threat Response (MTR) service is a strong example of this. It combines threat response, endpoint protection, and remediation services into one holistic solution.

But why does Sophos Managed Threat Response deserve your attention? Let’s unpack the details.

What is Sophos MTR?

Sophos Managed Threat Response (MTR) is a cyber security threat detection and response solution that provides visibility for network devices by scanning for threats, and reporting them to the organisation as leaks.

The solution provides 24/7 threat hunting, detection, and remediation by a security team. It searches devices, networks, and apps for signs of malware and other cyber threats, proactively targeting the threats and neutralising them when discovered.

MTR also helps protect against advanced persistent threats (APTs), which are sophisticated computer attacks that can be years in the making. It can help protect against these APTs by detecting unusual behaviours and alerting you when a threat is detected. It proactively defends against cyber-attacks from occurring by blocking suspicious activity.

Centralised threat detection

With centralised threat detection on a single platform, Sophos MTR is an optimised hybrid cloud-based solution that combines sophisticated AI, machine learning, and human intelligence to identify and respond to threats across the entire network. It combines the advantages of both on-premise and cloud-based solutions, mitigating the risks of both by keeping sensitive data protected in the cloud.

MTR can work in different ways depending on the type of organisation, but generally it will involve a combination of endpoint protection and network monitoring. Endpoint protection will help defend against viruses and other malware, while network protection will look for signs of intrusion or abnormal activity. Once MTR has detected a threat, it can be automatically triggered to send an alert to relevant personnel. This can then allow them to take appropriate action before any damage is done.

Identify new threats as they emerge

Sophos MTR can proactively search for suspicious behaviour from the cloud, enabling you to catch unknown threats on the move. By combining threat intelligence with machine learning (ML) techniques, MTR is able to identify new threats as they emerge, including zero-day, and unknown and unregistered threats.

This enables you to easily identify any malicious activity across your network, so that you can take action before an attack has time to succeed, minimising damage and the amount of time required for remediation.

Proactive action and response

Sophos MTR automates the process of detecting, classifying, and responding to threats across your entire environment. It uses machine learning to analyse and predict attacks, providing organisations with a greater level of visibility and control over their IT environment.

Additionally, Sophos MTR provides visibility into activity in the cloud to help you identify suspicious behaviour, such as unauthorised access to data, or increased traffic volume on the network. It also allows you to review logs of all events across the entire infrastructure to ensure that security policies are being followed.

By proactively responding to known threats, MTR can reduce the cost of incident response efforts by limiting unnecessary resources spent on incident response.

Sophos MTR versus Microsoft Defender

Microsoft Defender is a lightweight and intuitive security solution which is easy to use and deploy. Businesses are able to install the solution on all endpoints and configure it to suit their specific needs, making it suitable for both start-ups and established enterprises. Microsoft Defender boasts a number of advanced features, including machine learning and real-time scanning. In addition, the solution integrates with other Microsoft services, including Azure and Microsoft 365.

Sophos MTR and Microsoft Defender are two of the most established threat response services on the market. As such, they possess a number of similarities, including a real-time threat detection engine, continuous monitoring, and 24/7 support.

However, there are a few key differences between the two services. Sophos MTR is a fully managed service that includes everything businesses need to stay secure, including a security appliance, threat detection software, and a team of security experts. Microsoft Defender, on the other hand, is a free standalone solution that businesses need to set up and configure on their own.

Sophos MTR also includes a full range of threat response services, including incident investigation, quarantine, and remediation. Microsoft Defender is a more basic security solution that only detects and responds to malicious threats.

Gartner provides key insights to the two security solutions, with Sophos MTR proving to be more favourable. While both security solutions are well-established, Sophos MTR is the better option. The service is compatible with a wider range of devices, and it can be used by businesses of all sizes. Microsoft Defender, however, is only compatible with Windows 10 and 11 machines, and only businesses with up to 250 devices can use the service.

Defend your business from threats before they strike

The threat landscape has become increasingly complex. Internal vulnerabilities and external threats makes security management a critical component of any organisation’s IT infrastructure.

Sophos Managed Threat Response is an ideal solution for managing cyber security and protecting your business against incoming attacks. With the right combination of advanced threat detection, human intelligence, and automated response capabilities, MTR provides businesses with the right tools and resources necessary to protect their networks and data from cyber-attacks.

The Sophos MTR team at Essential Tech are threat detection, hunting, and analyst experts. They can implement Sophos MTR into your business and fully manage the environment to provide you with the best performance and efficiency to defend your network and systems. Talk to them today and find out more.