Malwarebytes pairs new MDR, EDR for overwhelmed cybersecurity teams

Addressing the shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals, Malwarebytes on Wednesday  launched Malwarebytes MDR (managed detection and response), pairing EDR (end point detection and response) technology with a dedicated team of security analysts, providing both automated and human lines of defense.

In doing so, the company says, the new MDR service helps reduce the need for security teams to dedicate a large staff to prioritize, triage and respond to threats.

“We are launching Malwarebytes MDR at a time when security teams are increasingly strapped for resources, and cybersecurity threats are continuing to proliferate quickly,” said Bob Shaker, VP of managed services at Malwarebytes.

More than 61% of firms polled for a 2022 EDR Study by Ponemon Institute say complexities and limited staff are significant EDR challenges.

“Malwarebytes MDR alleviates organizations who are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of security alerts they receive, providing 24/7 coverage and helping prioritize and address the threats that pose the greatest risk to their business,” Shaker said.

MDR optimizes threat detection, prioritization

Malwarebytes EDR is a lightweight endpoint agent-based application. It uses machine learning and a rich database of vulnerability and other cybersecurity information to both detect known threats, as well as identify potential zero-day or other unseen threats. Malwarebytes MDR is a new offering that brings together the EDR application with expert human threat intelligence and analysis to offer an additional dimension of cybersecurity protection.

By joining Malwarebytes EDR and MDR, customers can ensure that not only are potential threats spotted, but that they are then triaged and addressed in order of priority, Shaker said. 

Malwarebytes is targeting the product at organizations or security teams that feel limited in their ability to identify and address cybersecurity threats, respond to alerts, and proactively hunt for potential zero-day risks.

Small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) are often the most resource-constrained and disproportionately feel the effects of cybersecurity threats without a continuous program to assess and defend against attacks.  

 “In essence, CSOs can outsource the most resource-intensive tasks to a dedicated team of experts, freeing up their IT teams to focus on the implementation of their core security program rather than being spread thin across an insurmountable pool of potential threats,” Shaker said. 

MDR analysts monitor threats, provide guidance

Malwarebytes MDR analysts are constantly monitoring and triaging alerts, hunting for hidden threats, and either directly remediating or providing customized guidance to organizations. For any SMB or managed service provider (MSP) with more alerts than they can handle, Malwarebytes MDR prioritizes critical alerts, detects advanced malware attacks, analyzes past indicators-of-compromise, and ensures ongoing resiliency, according to the company. 

“We have built a stellar team of analysts with a high percentage of tier-two and tier-three analysts coming from top government agencies and financial institutions,” Shaker said. 

Malwarebytes MDR will be available for purchase both directly as well as through MSP partners. 

“One of the challenges that we wanted to solve was that many MDR services can take months to get fully onboarded and up and running. With Malwarebytes MDR, customers immediately appear in Malwarebytes’ system upon purchase, and their MDR instance can be spun up in less than a day,” Shaker said. 

Malwarebytes MDR is bundled with EDR as a supplement. “That’s to say, every customer who signs up for Malwarebytes MDR will need to also utilize our EDR capabilities,” Shaker said. However, organizations have the option to limit their licensing purely to Malwarebytes EDR. 

Malwarebytes EDR is currently running at a discounted price of $84.99 per device annually. The cost of Malwarebytes MDR was not revealed by the company.