Protecting companies from the latest threats with XDR, merging technology with expert knowledge

“Ten years ago, targeted attacks (advanced persistent threats [APTs]) were the biggest threat; but lately ransomware has been running rampant, with all companies being subject to attacks,” explained Yuji Hirokawa of Secureworks. He added that the amount of damages surpassed two trillion yen in 2022 and could reach twenty trillion in ten years, as the danger is rising.

Kiyotaka Tamada, also of Secureworks, said that the “dwell time,” the period before ransomware launches an attack after infiltrating a system, is becoming considerably shorter. “Compared to the long-term, ongoing attacks by APTs, ransomware attacks are short, lasting an average of 5.5 days in 2021, 4.5 days in 2022, and just 24 hours in 2023,” he warned.

Mr. Tamada then pointed to some of the main issues for operation and management, including the “increase in attacks that cannot be detected by EDR alone,” the “increase in security products to be deployed,” the “difficulty of aggregating the threat information from each product and of using it with other products,” and the “drying up of resources and skills.” Mr. Hirokawa said that under these circumstances, “Next-generation Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and Managed Detection and Response (MDR), capable of an integrated approach, are indispensable.”

A Secureworks solution aimed at such needs is Taegis, an XDR platform combining a wealth of expert knowhow with a 24-hours-per-day security monitoring service. Notable for its ability to bring together diverse technologies and human intelligence, “The initial survey is completed in an hour or less, while it can handle everything from detection to response in a few hours,” says Mr. Hirokawa. In further touting its appeal, he called attention to its advantage as an open platform able to collect information by linking with the services of other vendors, and its “big data analysis” capability for storing and using a year’s worth of data for all users.