Why is EDR Crucial for Financial Industry?

Cybercriminals pick their targets with two considerations: the strongest effect and huge profits.

The financial industry is one such sector that meets both these considerations and is one of the most vulnerable groups to attacks. The reason for being a prime target is not just to handle vast sums of money and sensitive personal data but also because they often lack adequate security.  

One of the most pressing concerns in the financial industry is how to secure its infrastructure from cyber criminals and other hackers. Malicious attacks can have disastrous consequences on the financial sector, which requires a security solution that can adapt to constantly changing threats. But the question arises – how? Because it is even challenging for financial institutions to keep track of their security. Do they need a managed security service that can completely handle their security? Or will the managed EDR provider help? Let us unfold through the blog and understand what sort of security was lacking in some recent cyberattacks on the financial sector.  

Mentioned below are the two use cases where it was found that these financial sectors lacked some security services in their organization and had to go through a major attack.  

1. Block Data Breach

Can you recall the recent Fintech giant “Block” data breach in April 2022 that impacted almost 8.2 million employees? The company has confirmed the same in the security magazine news article that all it happened because of the lack of a malware detecting tool.   

2. Cosmos Bank Cyberattack 

The other major attack happened in 2018 with a Cosmos bank in India, resulting in attackers stealing $13.5 million in just two days. The news and FIR found that the hackers took advantage of a software vulnerability in the company’s automated teller machine (ATM) system. It was later discovered in the investigation that Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) technology, which is required to defend any banking network, was lacking from the security stack of most financial firms.  

Looking at these two actual incidents, it becomes imperative for financial services to secure their endpoints. The financial sector requires a strong-managed EDR provider who can help detect and respond to threats proactively.  

But what exactly is EDR, and how can it help secure your enterprise information? Read on to understand how it helps identify and mitigate attacks in real-time.  

What is EDR?

Endpoint detection & response (EDR) is a solution for detecting attacks that aim to penetrate the organization through its endpoints. It uses Advanced and highly evasive attack detection approaches that include artificial intelligence, machine learning, behavioral analysis, and more. It offers actionable data and behavioral analysis, which will identify the attacker and allow you to respond appropriately to avoid further damage.   

An EDR system should be a central part of your cybersecurity program because it gives you the context you need to respond accordingly and better visibility into what activity is happening on your endpoints.  

How does the EDR Identify Financial Attacks?

Statistics show that stealthy attackers need time and effort to access an organization’s network. As a result, financial institutions must consider that they will be targeted and that not all attacks can be stopped. To be prepared for this threat, they must build more sophisticated security measures capable of quickly alerting their experts and providing immediate situational visibility and exposure. A managed EDR provider can also be one significant consideration as they provide complete protection with advanced AI-based technologies. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) can benefit a BFSI firm in the following ways:  

• EDR identifies signature-less threats:
  Most BFSI attacks will lack a verified signature. Unlike traditional solutions such as antivirus, EDR detects suspicious actions using algorithmic techniques such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and behavioral analysis.  
• EDR identifies file-less attacks:
  Nowadays, deceptive attacks frequently exploit whitelisted Windows software such as PowerShell to cause damage in a file-less manner. EDR solutions analyze behaviors instead of files and are thus the only viable technique to deal with file-less attacks. 
• EDR monitors low and slow attacks:
  EDR collects and continually analyzes endpoint data in a big-data archive, steadily creating a link to form a story by connecting suspicious individual behaviors into an undeniable cohesive multi-stage attack. As a result, it can identify “low” and “slow” threats, which frequently go undetected.

Suggested reading: What is EDR and Why Your Business Needs Endpoint Detection and Response? 

Can Managed EDR providers help in Financial Security?  

Like any other business sector, financial institutions have a lot to lose if they do not adequately assess their fraud risk. With the current rise in cyber-attacks and fraud, it’s time for financial institutions to employ an effective EDR solution, which will be able to detect, prevent, and potentially even stop fraud attempts. A better-managed EDR provider can always ensure complete protection of your data and reduce risks. Ace Cloud Hosting offers unified endpoint security powered by CrowdStrike Falcon Insight with EDR and EPP for holistic protection that spans from a single endpoint to the entire organization. Ace Cloud Hosting provides a proactive, adaptive, and granular cybersecurity solution to keep your business safe.  

How our managed EDR solution contributes?

1. Enhanced Visibility:
Get a bird’s eye view of your environment with an integrated endpoint detection and response (EDR) and endpoint protection platform (EPP) solution.   

2. Predictive Threat Hunting:
Uncover new threats you cannot see on your own. Leverage the collective intelligence of MITRE ATT&CK to search and track emerging threats automatically.

3. Next-generation Endpoint Security:
Provides complete visibility into every endpoint, protecting all your users with threat prevention and detection tools at no risk of false positives.

4. Trusted by Financial Institutions:
ACE provides a new way for financial institutions to be protected by delivering a cloud-delivered solution that detects, stops, and responds to targeted internal and external threats on any endpoint while facilitating financial firms with essential financial regulatory compliance needs.  

Protect the network from the inside out. ACE is the only managed EDR solution that helps you protect from the inside out. Get in touch with our security experts today to assess your current cybersecurity landscape and have our Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) work wonders for you.