SIEM vs. EDR: Key Differences Explained

Understand the key differences between SIEM and EDR and how the two very different approaches to strengthening network security can complement each other.

As digital technologies continue to evolve, organizations cannot ignore their cybersecurity. A single cyber-attack or security breach can expose an entire network along with the personal information of millions of people. Therefore, cybersecurity plays a vital role in protecting the assets and services of an organization from malicious attacks.

This article explores and explains Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to enhance cybersecurity management. SIEM is a system that allows organizations to get a bird-eye view of their entire network to respond to threats instantly. EDR monitors the endpoint activities and analyzes the collected data to detect potential threats in real-time. Both of these take on a proactive approach towards cybersecurity.

Exploring Security Information and Event Management

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a sub-discipline of cybersecurity, where software services and products combine security information management and security event management. SIEM provides security teams with a central place to collect, aggregate, and analyze large volumes of data across the enterprise, and effectively streamline security workflows.

Key features of SIEM

1. Alerting – SIEM is capable of analyzing events and escalating the alerts to the security analysts so that immediate actions can be taken. The process of alerting is done through emails, through security dashboards, as well as through other forms of messaging.
2. Correlation – SIEM software are capable of performing event correlation in real-time, which assists in identifying relationships and patterns among different security events. SIEM solutions help in threat detection by aggregating and correlating security data from logs all across the networks, and applications.
3. Threat Intelligence – SIEM tools can integrate threat intelligence feeds to improve their capability of threat detection. To enrich the process of analysis, these tools manage to integrate with external threat intelligence sources.
4.  Advanced Threat Detection – To detect threats in real time, SIEM makes use of machine learning and behavioral analytics. It identifies and prioritizes threats that might otherwise have been skipped by traditional security systems. It effectively analyzes the network traffic and identifies anomalies to detect threats. It also uses rule-based threat detection.
5. Incident Response – Incident response workflows are supported by SIEM solutions to provide real-time insights and visibility into security incidents. SIEM is analytics-driven and therefore includes auto-response capabilities to disrupt cyberattacks.

Exploring Endpoint Detection and Response

Endpoint detection and response (EDR) popularly known as endpoint threat detection and response is a technology in the field of cybersecurity that helps in the continuous monitoring of the endpoints to mitigate malicious cyberattacks. This is an integrated endpoint solution that is capable of combining the data gathered from the continuous monitoring and collection from endpoints with the analytical capabilities based on automated responses.

Endpoint devices in this case are usually connected to a network and can include devices like desktops, servers, laptops, and other mobile devices. This facilitates the monitoring of the endpoints in real time.

Key features of EDR

1. Threat Detection – EDR makes use of advanced analytics techniques and machine learning algorithms along with behavior analysis techniques to detect already known as well as unknown threats.
2. Endpoint Visibility – EDR provides real-time visibility into endpoint activities. This helps the security team to detect and mitigate threats with greater efficiency and effectiveness. These ensure that a detailed insight is gained into the activities of endpoints through a holistic, continuous, and real-time monitoring approach.
3. Threat Intelligence – EDR can integrate with threat intelligence feeds, which provide a detailed analysis of emerging threats and other malicious activities. EDR makes use of endpoint agents to collect data, which can then be analyzed to generate threat insights. It uses AI and machine learning as well.
4. Forensics – EDR offers detailed forensic investigation capabilities assisting security team to detect and mitigate threats. It provides the security team with an overview of the performance of the network, uncovering unusual events.
5. Automated Response – EDR solutions can provide automated responses to threats detected at the endpoints of the network. After a threat is detected, the tool is capable of initiating a response workflow, which prioritizes alerts.

SIEM vs EDR: Key differences

1. Threat Detection and Response 

SIEM works in detecting the threats by correlating the events across the network and identifying the events but its capability to respond is mostly limited to alerting and investigation. EDR works by proactively detecting threats directly on the endpoints. It is capable of rapid investigation by launching automatic incident response including remediation. It can detect and thwart malware and ransomware attacks, file-less attacks, and advanced persistent threats.

2. Data Collection and Analysis 

Security information and event management rely on other tools like EDR for collecting and synthesizing the data needed into cybersecurity intel and for the most potential response but Endpoint detection and response collect the data from the sources directly as they continuously monitor the appliances and the user’s behavior at system endpoint.

3. Cost and ROI

The cost of SIEM for an average enterprise-level would be around $10k monthly with the ROI as the number of troubles it avoids to the disaster it prevents whereas the cost of EDR would be from $8 to $16 per agent per month and ROI as the ratio of the benefits and costs of the endpoint security investments.

4. Functionality

The function of SIEM is to provide the organization a point at which they can collect, aggregate, and analyze the collected data across the network to streamline security workflows while EDR is a function that gathers and analyzes the security threat-related information from the workstations and endpoint to find the security breaches and to provide quick response to potential threats.

5. Area of Focus

SIEM is a tool that focuses on providing visibility and protecting the entire corporate network while EDR is a tool that works entirely and focuses mainly on the system endpoints and provides protection for the endpoints.

6. Response Capability

SIEM is a solution that is designed for identification of the threats but has limited incident response capability whereas EDR is a solution that is designed for response to incidents and can automatically take predefined actions.

SIEM vs EDR

Area of Focus	Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)	Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
Key features and capability	SIEM does comprehensive analysis by log aggregation from across the network for real-time event alerting and correlation. It can retain the data for a long term for historical analysis and compliance.	EDR does continuous real-time monitoring and behavioral analysis of their endpoint to detect anomalies and threats. And has the automated response capability such as isolating a device.
Purpose and focus	SIEM is utilized to provide a broad view of the organization’s security posture and analyze the data gained from servers, endpoints, and network devices. SIEM is used for overall security monitoring and for correlating events.	EDR is utilized for focusing on endpoints such as laptops, desktops, and servers with the aim to detect and investigate any threats in the devices and further provide advanced threat-detecting techniques and quick response to the threats.
Data handling and analysis	SIEM support collects the data from across the network by applying the correlated rules to identify the potential security incident. SIEM provides a macro-level view of the organization’s security.	EDR support collects detailed data from various endpoints to analyze their behavior for malicious activities. EDR is granular in data analysis at the endpoint level.
Response and remediation	SIEM support does manual interventions to provide threat remedies and generates alerts by analyzing data to identify threats. Further integrates with other security tools for coordinated response.	EDR has the capability to provide immediate and automated responses for the endpoint level and responses by quarantining files or isolating endpoints.
Integration and scalability	SIEM integrates with a wide range of security solutions and is scalable to accommodate growing data and network expansion.	EDR integrates with the existing platforms for endpoint protection and scales as the number of endpoints increases.

When to Choose SIEM and EDR?

SIEM should be chosen by the organization when they want a broad view of the entire IT environment which involves network traffic, logs, and events from various sources whereas EDR should be opted for when the organizations are primarily concerned with the endpoint devices, offering in-depth visibility into the devices.

SIEM vs EDR Use Cases

SIEM is suitable for organizations that need comprehensive visibility of security and compliance management. SIEM is useful for detecting inside threats, network breaches, and unusual activity patterns.

The SIEM use cases are:

1. Detecting compromised user credential
2. Tracking system changes
3. Detecting unusual behavior on privileged account
4. Secure cloud-based application
5. Phishing detection
6. Log management
7. Threat hunting

EDR is suitable for organizations that are looking to strengthen endpoint security. EDR is mostly effective in combating ransomware, zero-day exploits, and advanced persistent threats.

The EDR used cases are:

1.  Advance action for the security team
2. Incident response
3.  Remote Remediation
4.  Alert triage
5. Threat hunting
6. Forensic investigation

Integrating SIEM and EDR to Strengthen an Organization’s Security Posture

Both SIEM and EDR solutions are required for ongoing management and maintenance. Thus, integrating SIEM and EDR enables organization to strengthen the security by:

EDR works as an immediate threat-detecting system on the endpoints, thus it complements SIEM’s network-wide visibility which helps in the quick identification and remediation of threats.

Since EDR provides detailed endpoint context which when combined with SIEM enhances its ability to analyze and correlate data which leads to deeper insight into the security.

Together SIEM and EDR lead to a coordinated response to the incident which helps in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of security operations.

Choosing the Right Security Tool for Your Organization

For organizations that are looking for advanced threat detection, investigation, and response capability at the endpoint level then EDR is the most appropriate solution whereas SIEM is appropriate for enterprises requiring compliance reporting and providing a holistic view of the network’s security posture.

One of the most popular tools for integrating SIEM with XDR is SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR, which provides advanced automation, integration, and customization capabilities.  Also, SentinelOne EDR is capable of automating incident response processes and reducing the time to detect and respond to security incidents.

Conclusion

For the most appropriate security of the organization, they should integrate SIEM and EDR solutions that enhance the overall security posture. This integration allows for better correlation of endpoint data with network and system events. SIEM and EDR play a crucial role in improving the cybersecurity posture of organizations allowing them to adopt digital technologies in a safer environment.

FAQs

What is the difference between XDR and SIEM?

XDR is a more comprehensive and integrated approach to threat detection and responds by correlating the data from extended detection and response curves. SIEM on the other hand focuses on the management of logs, monitoring of real-time events, and compliance management.

What is the difference between antivirus and SIEM?

Antivirus and SIEM are robust cybersecurity strategies. However, the major difference between the two is that the antivirus focuses on providing endpoint protection against already-known malware. On the flip side, SIEM provides broader visibility into the networks and has advanced threat detection and incident response capabilities.

What is the difference between SIEM and MDR?

SIEM solutions are likely to focus more on known threats and anomalies while MDR solutions are more focused on the detection and response to unknown threats. Also, SIEM is a technology, whereas MDR is a service.

Can XDR replace SIEM or Vice Versa?

XDR focuses primarily on threat detection, investigation, and response. While, SIEM focuses on other use cases as well such as the inclusion of compliances, and monitoring of operations. Therefore, they could not be replaced.

What is EDR vs SIEM vs XDR vs MDR?

The primary focus of EDR is on endpoint security. XDR on the other hand provides a unified view of various tools and attack vectors. MDR is not a technology but a service, which assists with ongoing cybersecurity threat detection and response. Furthermore, SIEM is used for detecting threats, for compliance, and for incident management.