Searching for a quality-managed detection and response (MDR) service provider can be daunting, with dozens of vendors to choose from. However, in its 2023 Gartner Market Guide for Managed Detection and Response Services, Gartner confronts the challenge head-on.

For the second consecutive year, Cyber Defense Magazine honored Trustwave with a 2024 Global InfoSec Award for Best Solution Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Service Provider.

The #1 global managed detection and response (MDR) provider and pioneer continues to dominate. Today, CrowdStrike was named a Leader in the 2024 IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Managed Detection and Response 2024 Vendor Assessment1 among the 19 vendors evaluated in the report. CrowdStrike was also recently named a Leader in Frost & Sullivan’s 2024 Frost Radar: Managed Detection and Response. The global demand for MDR continues to surge as businesses face a harsh reality.

Companies engage with a managed detection and response (MDR) provider to help ensure they detect cyber threats before they do any damage. The "response" part of the MDR moniker is key to that effort, making it vital to determine up front exactly what your chosen provider will do when it detects a threat in your environment.

Trustwave SpiderLabs’ recent threat report on the hospitality industry included a reminder that people are the weakest link in most any cyber security plan, along with some sobering points demonstrating how employees are being challenged more than ever by bad actors armed with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools.

Among the due diligence a company should perform when signing with a managed detection and response (MDR) provider, one item that may not be top of mind is who owns custom content developed during the service. You may be surprised to find out it’s often the provider, not you. MDR content ownership becomes an issue when you change providers or bring in-house the monitoring capability.

While third-party products and services are crucial to everyday business operations for almost any company, they also present significant security concerns, as high-profile attacks including SolarWinds and MOVEit laid bare. Trustwave research shows the attacks vary by industry but also makes clear the best defense is the stringent application of the latest security measures, including penetration tests, vulnerability scans, and managed detection and response (MDR) services.

Managed detection and response (MDR) providers often tout how quickly they can onboard new clients, and rapid onboarding can indeed be essential in many instances, but speed is not always paramount. What is crucial for long-term peace of mind is to configure the MDR service for robust detection of threats and protection of all your critical assets. This scope-of-coverage aspect can get lost as MDR providers promise to onboard clients in ever-tightening timeframes, including self-service onboarding.