Last updated at Thu, 25 Jul 2024 19:36:18 GMT

In-house security organizations these days are operating at an extreme deficit. Skeleton crews are running entire security operations centers (SOCs). A constant barrage of alerts is making it difficult for these teams to detect and investigate every alert and stay ahead of today’s evolving threats. The odds are heavily in favor of the attacker.

But there is hope. Managed security service providers (MSSPs) – and more specifically, managed detection and response (MDR) providers – enable access to specialized detection and response expertise and headcount, bypassing the talent- and skill-gap challenges that plague the industry.

MDR offers a way for internal security teams to extend their capabilities in threat detection, alert triage, malware analysis, incident investigation, and response capabilities quickly and at scale. For under-resourced teams, MDR is a turnkey solution for a fully operational SOC at a fraction of the cost to build one out internally. How much, exactly?

A June 2022 Total Economic Impact™ study by Forrester Consulting commissioned by Rapid7 found that Rapid7's “secret sauce” – a blend of extended detection and response (XDR) technology, improved visibility, and SOC expertise – enabled a composite Rapid7 MDR customer to capture an estimated 549% return on their investment (ROI) over three years and to see a payback for that investment in less than 3 months! That’s almost a 5.5x ROI!

▶︎ MDR PRODUCT TOUR

The analysis was conducted using a hypothetical composite organization created for the purposes of the study, using insights gleaned from four real-life MDR customers. This composite reflects a security team profile we see often: a small team of two security professionals tasked with protecting 1,800 employees and 2,100 assets. A tall order, and one that (unfortunately) represents the state of security operations today.

The study concluded that Rapid7 MDR services experts integrate with an existing security organization to quickly cut down on detection and response times. Subsequently, the interviewed customers saw substantial returns from working alongside the MDR team as a trusted partner to mature their program.

Here are four key takeaways from the Forrester Consulting study.

Rapid7 MDR offered improved visibility through XDR technology

Detection can only be as good as the visibility the technology provides and what’s being monitored. In the words of an interviewed director of information security for a financial services company, “I didn’t have full visibility into the security activity of all devices across my enterprise. It was a ‘fingers-crossed’ [hope] that there isn’t something going on within my network.”

Luckily, MDR as a partner can ensure complete monitoring and visibility across the entire environment – comprehensive coverage to detect across all endpoints, user accounts, network traffic, deception technologies, the cloud, and more – offering a winning strategy.

In the study, Forrester found that Rapid7 MDR utilizes XDR capabilities to help customers see beyond the confines of a traditional security information and event management (SIEM) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, with coverage across the entire modern environment.

Combined with the latest threat intelligence and machine learning to continuously analyze attacker activity, the MDR provider can help you anticipate that threat and form a more proactive response. That’s a winning strategy.

Rapid7 MDR saved time for security teams

Alerts can fire constantly. Each of them needs triaging and investigation. Every confirmed incident then needs a response plan, remediation, mitigation actions, and a post-incident report. The challenge is, all of this takes time.

With MDR, those alerts are handled without spending countless cycles from the customer’s internal teams. Investigation, response, and reporting are, too. This frees up the security team to focus on other aspects of their program.

Going from understaffed to capably staffed can be an incredible time saver. As a director of information security in financial services said to Forrester, “If we didn’t acquire MDR, I would have had to do a lot more manual work and it would have kept me from other tasks.”

The Forrester study concluded that Rapid7 MDR – by providing improved focus and outsourcing of detection and response activities – reduced the amount of time spent by:

  • 87.5% on alert investigation
  • 97.5% on response, remediation, and recovery
  • 83.3% on research and reporting

Rapid7 MDR helped avoid the hefty costs of hiring security talent

The Gartner® 2021 SOC Model Guide report suggests that “by 2025, 33% of organizations that currently have internal security functions will attempt and fail to build an effective internal SOC due to resource constraints, such as lack of budget, expertise, and staffing.” This is partially because of the difficulty to hire and retain top detection and response talent.

Hiring a full SOC team is incredibly expensive. For example, the Gartner SOC Model Guide suggested an industry benchmark closer to “at least 10-12 personnel for 24/7 coverage," with the Forrester TEI study placing one full-time employee (FTE) at $135,000 annually.

Because of this, many teams are turning to MDR to implement a hybrid-SOC model that integrates an MDR SOC alongside an internal SOC team. Gartner suggests, “By 2025, 90% of SOCs in the G2000 will use a hybrid model by outsourcing at least 50% of the operational workload.” This approach has certainly become the most optimal and economic option.

Partnering with an MDR provider is certainly one way to avoid prohibitive time and hiring costs. According to the Forrester Consulting study, Rapid7 was able to save the composite organization $1.5 million over the course of three years by avoiding the need to hire five full-time security analysts in order to achieve 24x7 coverage (in year 1). And those numbers might be low compared to other industry SOC FTE benchmarks.

Rapid7 MDR greatly reduced the risk of a security breach

There will always be new zero-days, new TTPs, and emerging threats that make it impossible to prevent (and stop) every breach. The Forrester Consulting Cost Of A Cybersecurity Breach Survey from 2020 Q4 estimated that an organization will have an average of 2.5 significant security breaches each year with an average cost of $654,846 per breach.

That’s where partnering with an MDR provider can help reduce that number. In fact, the Forrester study notes that Rapid7 MDR reduced the likelihood of a major security breach by 90% for the composite organization!

At Rapid7, some of our MDR capabilities that help prevent breaches from occurring are:

  • XDR technology to see complete visibility across your attack surface (with an ability for customers to have full access to InsightIDR for log search, data storage, reporting, and more)
  • 24x7x365 monitoring of the environment from a global, follow-the-sun SOC team of detection and response experts
  • Proactive, hypothesis-driven threat hunts from human MDR analysts
  • Active Response to contain assets and users instantly when there’s a validated incident

What about the 10% of incidents that get through? We at Rapid7 offer an industry-first, unlimited Incident/Breach Response baked into our MDR service, leveraging our integrated Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) team to ensure we’re able to assist customers with any security incident, no matter how minor or major.

All of this is why a director of information security in financial services who was interviewed for the Forrester study said, “I’d say we’re 100% more prepared to handle a security incident with Rapid7 MDR.”

MDROI

Ultimately, the goal of the security department is to invest in technology and services that help protect the organization. But when that investment is able to positively impact the company’s bottom line, it’s a win-win.

It’s not just about alleviating some of the stress on the security team. It’s also about having access to that MDR provider’s technology, their library of advanced detection methodologies and resources, and the collaboration that can lead to strengthening your security posture.

You can read the entire Forrester TEI study to get the full breakdown on Rapid7 MDR alongside the numbers and stories from customers.

But what the study does not quantify is our commitment to partnering with our customers to improve their security maturity, providing expertise that drives returns for your detection and response program where and when you need it.

Considering MDR but don't know where to start? We put together the 2024 MDR Buyer’s Guide that includes the questions to ask and what to look for to help the decision-making process.

Forrester Consulting Study, “The Total Economic Impact™ Of Rapid7 Managed Detection And Response (MDR)” commissioned by Rapid7.

The Gartner® 2021 SOC Model Guide, 19 October 2021, John Collins, Mitchell Schneider, Pete Shoard

Gartner® is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

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