How Threat Intelligence And XDR Enhance Small Business Cybersecurity

Small businesses face significant challenges in protecting themselves from the sophisticated attacks launched by threat actors. The pervasive nature of cyberthreats can make defending a small business a daunting proposition. Implementing the right mix of strategies and advanced tools can enhance an organization’s cybersecurity posture.

In this post, we will explore the synergistic benefits of small businesses leveraging threat intelligence and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions to help secure their IT environments and sensitive data resources.

What is Threat Intelligence?

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines threat intelligence as threat information that has been aggregated, transformed, analyzed, interpreted, or enriched to provide the necessary context for decision-making processes. The effective use of threat intelligence enables a small business to identify potential cyber threats and attack patterns that target cybersecurity vulnerabilities

Samurai offers customers superior threat intelligence built on NTT’s Tier 1 Internet backbone which provides extensive visibility into potential threats. Our proprietary threat intelligence is derived from a variety of sources including our public Internet backbone covering more than 40% of the Internet based on CAIDA AS ranking. This enhanced visibility allows Samurai to furnish exceptional threat intelligence that other vendors cannot match.

The Role of Threat Intelligence in Small Business Cybersecurity

Accurate threat intelligence can be instrumental in enhancing small business cybersecurity. Using threat intelligence efficiently identifies emerging threats and provides a small business with actionable insights to bolster defenses and minimize risk. Relying on traditional security solutions that target known threats is insufficient to protect small businesses in today's threat landscape.

For instance, threat intelligence may indicate a new type of attack designed to exfiltrate sensitive data. The threat focuses on a newly discovered vulnerability in a software package deployed by a small business. Armed with this knowledge, the company’s IT professionals can take proactive measures to ensure the business is not impacted by this threat. Without the intelligence provided by XDR, the company would be unaware of the threat until it manifested itself in an attack that damages the IT environment or data resources.

What is Extended Detention and Response (XDR)?

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) represents an evolution in cybersecurity technology. XDR consolidates components of Network Detection and Response (NDR), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) to address weaknesses in the individual solutions. XDR also eliminates the need to construct a complex security stack out of multiple components.

Benefits of Samurai XDR include:

• Identifies threats and delivers scenario-specific solutions;
• Protects remote workforces;
• Fast and accurate threat detection through AI, machine learning, and automation;
• Provides visibility into the entire digital estate;
• Integrates with your existing security solutions;
• Prioritizes threats so teams can concentrate on the most dangerous issues.

The Synergistic Relationship Between Threat Intelligence and XDR

XDR and threat intelligence have a synergistic relationship that enhances the solutions’ ability to protect a small business from threat actors. XDR’s functionality relies on viable threat intelligence feeds. These feeds provide information about known threats, indicators of compromise (IoCs), and trending attack techniques. This data enables an advanced XDR platform like Samurai to perform more accurate threat detection and more effective responses.

Real-Time Threat Monitoring and Detection

XDR functionality can be leveraged by a small business to provide continuous real-time monitoring of its IT environment. Integrating XDR into an existing security infrastructure enhances its threat detection capabilities by furnishing the platform with additional raw data. Security teams can identify suspicious activity and IoCs and perform proactive threat hunting to protect the infrastructure.

Empowering Small Business Security Teams

Small business security teams benefit from the combination of threat intelligence and XDR in multiple ways.

• XDR consolidates and prioritizes threat intelligence so small teams can concentrate on the most serious risks. Teams do not have to wade through unimportant alerts that take them away from addressing real threats.
• XDR easily scales and integrates with existing cybersecurity tools. Small businesses can leverage the functionality of their current cybersecurity solutions with XDR providing enhanced threat detection and protection.

Future-Proofing Small Business Cybersecurity

A long-term advantage of incorporating threat intelligence and XDR is its ability to future-proof your cybersecurity posture. Addressing today’s sophisticated threat landscape requires a proactive and comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. The investment in threat intelligence and an XDR platform puts your organization in excellent shape to handle emerging threats and protect your business from new types of cyberattacks.

The threat intelligence and extended detection capabilities of an XDR solution continuously evolves to keep pace with developments in the threat landscape. Your business will continue to be protected by XDR’s ability to identify suspicious activity in the environment so it can be addressed before it can cause problems.

How Samurai XDR Protects Your Small Business

Samurai XDR protects your small business with the following features and capabilities.

• Machine learning and advanced analytics are employed to identify suspicious activity across the environment. The platform can distinguish between typical activities and those that require attention and may indicate a new type of attack.
• Samurai detects the subtle lateral movements of threat actors moving through the environment that escape detection from traditional security solutions. These movements often indicate the presence of an advanced persistent threat (APT) that needs to be addressed before it can perform its malicious activities. APTs can linger in the environment for extended periods as it gathers information about the environment and searches for high-value targets for data exfiltration.
• Prioritizing and consolidating threat information helps a small business with limited resources identify and proactively address the most significant risks. Teams will not waste time tracking down inconsequential alerts and can concentrate on threats that pose a real risk to the environment.

Conclusion

Small businesses can easily enhance their cybersecurity posture by implementing advanced threat intelligence and an XDR platform. The actionable insights available from threat intelligence combined with the advanced detection and response capabilities of XDR provide robust protection from evolving cyberthreats.

Samurai’s Starter Plan is an excellent way of seeing how XDR helps protect your small business in a constantly changing threat landscape.