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68% of organizations experience endpoint security attacks, which either involve some form of malware, stolen devices, or compromised credentials. In a first-of-a-kind event, Qilin ransomware was able to harvest user credentials within Google browsers via endpoints.
Endpoint Protection Platforms secure only your network perimeter and do not let malware inside, focusing on passive protection. Whereas, Endpoint Detection Response actively tries to prevent threats from escalating or causing more damage after they are already inside your organization.
Both are needed for complete endpoint security. And If you can’t decide between EPP vs EDR, we’re here to help.
What is EPP?
According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Protection Report, 62% of financially motivated cyber attacks use some form of ransomware or extortion. With an endpoint protection platform, organizations are able to comprehensively manage cloud data and eliminate security threats that arise from known and unknown malware.
It is a specialized security solution you can use to prevent file-based attacks. How good your Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) is will depend on its threat detection capabilities. And the great ones use multiple detection techniques and employ advanced analytics.
What are the key features of EPP?
Looking for the best EPP solution when it comes to EPP vs. EDR? Here are the key features to hunt for:
- Anti-malware scanning at network endpoints should be a no-brainer.
- Look for signature matching, allow listing and deny listing, and sandboxing capabilities.
- Your EPP should have the ability to detect using different techniques: behavioral analysis and static analysis. The former scans for behavioral anomalies while the latter analyzes binaries using machine learning algorithms.
- Good EPP solutions include passive protection features like personal firewalls, next-generation antivirus (NGAV) software, data encryption, and some data loss prevention (DLP) features.
What is EDR?
So your adversaries have breached your perimeter defenses and now you want to contain them. This is where Endpoint Detection Response comes to your rescue.
Unlike EPP, EDR provides active protection. It allows users to instantly respond to security incidents, which may normally go undetected with EPP solutions. An EDR platform is a valuable component of any cloud and cyber security strategy.
SOC teams deal with high volumes of intrusions. Investing in an EDR tool becomes the right choice for users strapped with time and with a need to identify undetectable threats.
What are the key features of EDR?
Here are the key features of good EDR solutions for enterprises contemplating EPP vs EDR:
- Threat hunting is a core feature of any EDR solution. Alongside it, you need to embed advanced data analytics and seek support for incident response.
- Do not ignore alert triaging and security investigations. With increasing volumes of data and alerts, you would want to avoid false positives and filter the noise. Y Your EDR platform must have the ability to prioritize risks, alerts, and a severity-based threat response.
- Modern EDR solutions provide playbook-based automation, enabling the automated remediation of threats throughout the kill chain. They should be able to quarantine devices, block lateral movement, and allow for several response options in view of the different scenarios of threats.
- Security professionals prefer the option to switch between various tools and interfaces. EDR solutions should give them the option of integrated response capabilities and also centralize security investigations using a single tool.
4 Critical Differences between EPP vs EDR
Here are the top critical differences between EPP vs. EDR that you need to be aware of:
#1. EPP vs EDR: Visibility
Endpoint Detection Response is a new type of security technology. It provides fast and easy access to detailed security information on events that happen. Without EDR your security systems would face visibility issues and lack awareness of critical activities. It’s crucial to let EDR have complete oversight over your remote endpoints.
EPP can prevent the traditional attacks that slip by when no one’s watching. These include ransomware strains, malware, and advanced threats like zero-day and fileless attacks.
#2. EPP vs EDR: Detection Methods and Functions
EDR solutions include three main components – data collection, a detection engine, and a data analysis engine. Most EDR solutions will let you identify Indicators of Compromise (IoC) on the endpoint, attack methods being used, and the likelihood of the threat occurring again.
In the context of EPP vs EDR, endpoint forensics is another capability of good EDR solutions. Security teams should be able to trace back incidents and fully investigate them. EDR tools allow you to restrict access to the network, block certain processes, and take measures to manage and reduce attack surfaces.
#3. EPP vs EDR: Threat Coverage
EPPs can take up a lot of resources and be expensive to deploy, manage, and set up. They focus on known threats while offering limited protection and coverage against unknown threats. On the contrary, EDR’s defense strategy is reactive and it immediately responds to unknown threats.
It has a very high level of security maturity and can complement your existing security controls. EDR is ideal for organizations that want to satisfy multi-cloud compliance standards. If you are trying to achieve SOC 2 compliance or want to ensure adherence to the latest regulatory frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and others, try EDR.
#4. EPP vs EDR: Integrations
EPP easily integrates with other security tools and systems but falls short when it comes to real-time visibility into endpoint security. On the other hand, EDR is easy to integrate and offers real-time endpoint visibility alongside incident response and containment.
EPP vs EDR: 9 Key Differences
Here are the nine key differences between EPP vs EDR:
| Feature | EPP (Endpoint Protection Platform) | EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) |
| Focus | Focuses on preventing malware and other endpoint threats | Focuses on detecting and responding to endpoint threats in real-time |
| Threat Detection | Detects and prevents malware, viruses, and other endpoint threats. | Detects and responds to endpoint threats, including unknown and zero-day threats |
| Real-time Monitoring | Does not provide real-time monitoring | Provides real-time monitoring and detection of endpoint threats |
| Response | Provides automated response to detected threats | Provides manual response to detected threats, allowing for more targeted and effective remediation |
| Integration | Typically integrated with other security solutions | Typically integrated with other security solutions, including SIEM and incident response platforms |
| Cost | Typically less expensive than EDR solutions | Typically more expensive than EPP solutions |
| Complexity | Easier to implement and manage | More complex to implement and manage, requiring more expertise and resources |
| Threat Intelligence | Does not provide threat intelligence | Provides threat intelligence, including information on attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) |
| Incident Response | Does not provide incident response capabilities | Provides incident response capabilities, including automated remediation and containment |
Your modern EPP can combine other technologies like NGAV, threat intelligence, threat hunting, and agent-based vulnerability management.
Keep in mind that a standalone EDR is not enough to proactively fight against cyber threats. Organizations will need a more collective view of their security posture that mixes AI threat detection and human insight. A blend of EPP vs EDR features is the way to go and many complete cloud security solutions like SentinelOne can help you with this.
When to Choose Between EPP and EDR?
You can prevent a variety of threats by using a combination of EPP vs EDR solutions. EPP and EDR are both invaluable when it comes to your endpoint security. Rather than choosing one, pick a platform that delivers the best of both.
Your organization’s cloud security posture also depends on the state of your endpoint security.
Think of this analogy: If you were the mayor of a city and a crime scene was about to happen.
Would you prefer to identify perpetrators before they are about to commit a crime as they were commuting through the public?
Now assume another scenario, a fire breaks out. Wouldn’t you want firefighters to rush to the scene, respond to the crisis, and save lives?
In the first case, EPP is your best bet. For the second incident, it’s too late for EPP but EDR would prove to be very useful. Attackers can outsmart your basic perimeter defenses, which is why both are equally critical. An EDR can map out your attackers’ paths and identify the full kill chain, thus dramatically reducing the time needed to respond to future endpoint breaches.
EPP vs EDR Use Cases
Knowing where to use EPP vs EDR is just as important as buying a solution and implementing it. EPP vs EDR each have their very own unique use cases for different threat scenarios:
EPP Use Case:
- Microsoft’s security team put an EPP solution into action to keep its 100,000+ devices safe. They deployed switched on an EPP solution that had features to fight malware, ransomware, and control apps. The number of malware infections dropped by 95% and the time it took to respond to incidents went down by almost 75% compared to previously before.
EDR Use Case
- Hitachi Consulting provides services to over 6,500 clients around the globe. The company tackles cutting-edge digital transformation projects, and its leadership team requires a robust solution to manage endpoint security. To address this issue, they decided to use SentinelOne’s agent-based Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP). This platform helped to spot security incidents and carried out forensic investigations. The firm tackled unknown malware and ransomware and used several AI engines. SentinelOne’s AI engines stopped file-based malware, fileless malware, and attacks that moved sideways through systems. The platform also got rid of harmful media and documents.
- MedStar Health encountered a severe cybersecurity threat when a bad actor infiltrated its network. They had already implemented an EDR solution that provided real-time threat detection and response capabilities. In this case, due to the assistance of an EDR solution, MedStar Health was able to contain the threat within 2 hours and reduce its impact on patients’ data and operations.
- Target Corporation is a retail chain that suffered a significant data breach after an attack on one of its point-of-sale systems. They installed an EDR solution to get real-time threat visibility with incident response. The brand was later successfully able to contain the breach within just 1 hour.
Consolidating EPP and EDR for Robust Security
Human error is one of the top cyber security risks. This is why security automation is needed to detect and combat emerging cyber threats.
SentinelOne brings the best of in-class EPP and EDR in one agent, as a single platform. If you cannot decide between EPP vs EDR security features, then it will be your go-to AI-driven autonomous cyber security solution as it consolidates EDR and EPP.
SentinelOne’s patented Storyline™ technology tracks all OS relationships automatically for the full context of understanding an attack. It can automatically correlate telemetry to reduce alert fatigue and manual triage for SOC & IT analysts and map it to the MITRE ATT&CK® framework. Bring simplicity to response and automate resolution with one-click remediation patented to reverse all unauthorized changes.
Singularity Complete includes:
- Fully featured enterprise-grade EDR.
- NGAV and behavioral detection will block both known and unknown threats alike.
- Enterprise security suite features like network control, USB device control, and Bluetooth device control.
- Native network attack surface protection and rogue device identification with Ranger
- Storyline creates context in real-time: Windows, macOS, Linux, and Kubernetes cloud-native workloads.
- Storyline allows for the fast hypothesis testing that comes to fast RCA conclusions.
- Process re-linking across PID trees and reboots helps save valuable context.
- PowerQuery language enables intuitive ad hoc searches and hypothesis-based hunting.
SentinelOne EDR is easy to deploy and a no-fuss endpoint security solution.SentinelOne EDR is a great pick for companies looking to integrate EDR with other security systems and packages. The tool gives security teams the power to dig deep into security events with its investigative features. It gathers complex data from endpoints, network activity, and user actions.
Security teams can use this information to look into issues and respond to incidents. With SentinelOne EDR, you can stop advanced threats, check cloud accounts, and do even more. You can get in touch with the team and request a free live demo to try out its EDR vs EPP features.
Conclusion
Endpoint Protection Platforms and Endpoint Detection Response tools go a long way in mitigating such threats. You cannot choose between EDR vs EPP in the long-term, because both are essential. It’s harder to remediate future attacks when you don’t analyze and keep a reference log of such incidents. EPP will lay the basic foundational checks while EDR will act immediately if something goes wrong. By combining AI-driven EDR and EPP, organizations can counter cyber threats, protect clients, and eliminate risks.
An average ransomware attack can cost a company up to USD 4.88 million in financial losses. Data breaches can take more than 49 days or longer to be contained. The worst part is that cybercriminals can target the same victim again even after they have agreed to their demands. There is no guarantee that your threat actors will wait around and they’re constantly on the lookout to exploit the latest endpoint vulnerabilities.
The best way to fight them is by adopting the mindset of proactive security. So don’t just think of EPP vs EDR, invest in both.
EPP vs EDR FAQs
1. Can EPP replace EDR or vice versa?
Both EPP vs. EDR solutions are considered by organizations to achieve a holistic cyber security posture. EPP solutions rarely provide threat detection and response facilities compared to the level offered by EDR solutions. If an organization needs to detect and respond to advanced threats, an EDR solution more than likely would be a better choice.
2. Is EDR part of EPP?
You cannot compare EDR vs. EPP and separate them because both are foundational components of any organization’s robust cyber security strategy. EPPs collect endpoint data for analysis and apply a mix of AI, threat intelligence, and human threat-hunting tools to combat and prevent endpoint intrusions. EDR offers advanced threat detection, incident response, and containment capabilities against threats that have already breached security systems. It can also capture threats that remain invisible to EPPs and traditional antivirus software. So yes, EDR is a part of EPP and vice versa.
3. What is the difference between EDR vs EPP vs XDR?
Consider a security trio building solid defenses: EPP as foundational, keeping devices safe from known threats through antivirus and anti-malware; right after comes EDR, with real-time analysis that detects and mitigates unknown advanced threats able to bypass basic defenses. It now features endpoint, network, cloud, and more coverage; XDR is now the best cross-platform solution against contemporary threats.
4. What is the difference between EDR vs EPP vs Antivirus?
EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) is often viewed as just being an extension of classical Antivirus—it is more than that. It monitors endpoint activity proactively and in real-time, analyzes behavior, and identifies threats. Gartner’s reviews show EDR solutions can respond to threats in 15 minutes, while traditional antivirus may take hours or days.
EPP includes antivirus and various other security controls, such as firewalls and encryption. EPP offers protection from various threats, including malware and ransomware, whereas that is generally what antivirus is involved in—detection and eradication of malware.
Antivirus solutions find and clean up malware from endpoints by signature-based detection, which implies the comparison of the file code against a database that holds known malware. It is very effective against known threats but far less effective against unknown or zero-day threats.