Detection & response

Beyond antivirus: EDR/MDR in plain English

Traditional antivirus is a bouncer with a photo book: if a file matches a known bad picture, it gets turned away. Modern attacks don't look like the photos — they use new malware, stolen passwords, and legitimate tools doing illegitimate things.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) watches what's actually happening on each workstation and server — and when something behaves like an attack, it stops the process and can isolate the machine before the damage spreads. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) means real people investigate every serious detection and drive the response, so you're not left interpreting alerts on your own.

New to the terms? Start with our guides to why your business needs EDR/MDR and zero-day exploits explained.

Behavior-based detection — catches attacks legacy antivirus has never seen.
Automatic containment — infected machines are isolated before threats spread.
Managed response — detections are investigated and acted on, not just logged.
Every endpoint covered — workstations and servers, in the office or remote.

Defense in depth

The security layers, working together

No single tool stops everything — so we layer protection across your endpoints, network, email, and cloud.

EDR/MDR — managed endpoint defense

Enterprise-grade Endpoint Detection and Response on every workstation and server, backed by Managed Detection and Response. Instead of waiting for a known virus signature to match, it watches for suspicious behavior, isolates threats, and puts a response team on anything that slips through.

DNS-layer filtering

Robust DNS security blocks connections to malicious sites before the page ever loads. Phishing links, malware downloads, and command-and-control traffic are cut off at the network layer — protection that works everywhere your team works.

Email security & Microsoft 365 tenant protection

Email is the front door for most attacks. We secure your entire Microsoft 365 cloud environment — email, files, and applications — so your tenant stays locked down against phishing, account takeover, and data leakage while your team stays productive.

Patching as a security control

Most breaches exploit vulnerabilities that already had a fix available. Automated patch management keeps your operating systems and every application up to date, closing security holes before attackers can use them.

Proactive monitoring

We keep constant watch on your network, servers, and workstations, so unusual activity gets investigated early — before it becomes downtime, data loss, or a ransom note.

Backups as the safety net

Security layers reduce risk; monitored backups with retention of up to 7 years make sure that even a worst-case incident is recoverable. See our backup & disaster recovery service for the full picture.

Stopped before it loads

DNS filtering and email: closing the front doors

Most attacks start with a click — a phishing email, a look-alike login page, a poisoned download. DNS-layer filtering blocks the connection to malicious sites before the page ever loads, which means many attacks fail at the very first step. Learn more in our guide to DNS security for business.

Pair that with Microsoft 365 tenant protection — safeguarding your email, files, and applications — and the two most common attack paths into a small business are covered continuously, not just when someone remembers to be careful.

Phishing links neutralized — malicious destinations are blocked at the DNS layer.
Microsoft 365 locked down — email, files, and apps protected across the tenant.
Patching on autopilot — known vulnerabilities are closed before they're exploited.
Backed by backups — tenant and system backups with up to 7-year retention.

FAQ

Cybersecurity, answered

I already have antivirus. Do I need EDR/MDR?

Legacy antivirus checks files against a list of known threats — it catches yesterday’s malware. EDR watches the behavior on your machines (a process encrypting files en masse, credentials being harvested, a script phoning home) and can stop and isolate an attack it has never seen before. MDR adds a team that investigates and responds to those detections for you. For a deeper dive, read why your business needs EDR/MDR.

What happens when a threat is detected?

The endpoint agent acts immediately — stopping the malicious process and, when needed, isolating the machine from the network so the threat can’t spread. The detection is then investigated as part of managed detection and response, and we work with you on remediation and getting the machine safely back into service. You get an answer, not just an alert.

Will this help with cyber-insurance requirements?

Cyber-insurance applications commonly ask about the controls this service provides — managed endpoint detection and response, email and Microsoft 365 security, patch management, and tested backups. Requirements vary by carrier and policy, so we can’t promise a specific outcome, but having these controls in place and documented makes those questionnaires much easier to answer honestly.

Can I get cybersecurity without a full managed IT plan?

Our security stack is built into every managed IT services plan, and that’s how most clients run it — security works best when it’s monitored and maintained continuously. If you have a different situation, talk to us and we’ll figure out the right fit.

Cybersecurity for Phoenix businesses