All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series (https://cisoseries.com/defense-in-depth-xdr-extended-detection-and-response/)

Is XDR changing the investigative landscape for security professionals? The "X" in XDR extends traditional endpoint detection and response or EDR to also include network and cloud sensors. Having this full breadth, XDR can contextualize alerts to tell a more cogent story as to what's going on in your environment. Check out this post for the basis for our conversation on this week’s episode which features me, David Spark (@dspark), producer of CISO Series, co-host Allan Alford (@allanalfordintx), and our guest is Dave Bittner (@bittner), host, The CyberWire.

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On this episode of Defense in Depth, you’ll learn: • XDR extends traditional endpoint detection and response or EDR to also include network and cloud sensors. • XDR is viewed as a comprehensive solution that rolls up all your critical feeds, sensors, and analytics. • Having this full breadth, XDR can contextualize alerts to tell a more cogent story as to what's going on in your environment. • If you've got a greenfield security program (essentially it's non existent), XDR is a no-brainer. But for everyone else, which is most of us, rolling out XDR is not as clear cut a decision. How does it integrate with your existing tech stack? • Lots of question as to why do you need a SIEM if you have XDR? But, most responded that the two technologies are complimentary. Where XDR becomes redundant is if you have SIEM + SOAR + XDR + NDR. • XDR's real power is the ability to give you some of the investigative details rather than just telling you that somebody breached a certain endpoint. But it can connect the dots and explain that a certain breach also resulted in a certain action. This greatly reduces the time your SOC needs to spend investigating cases. • Don't though be fooled with solutions that sell purely on reducing time and effort. You're only going to have that if you have useful integrations.