Detection and Response

What is EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)?

EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) is a security technology that continuously monitors a company's devices (computers, servers and phones) to detect, investigate and contain threats by their behavior, not just by known signatures. It is the evolution of traditional antivirus: it sees the attack that has never been seen before and responds in real time.

Zamak TechnologiesUpdated on July 10, 2026

How EDR works

Instead of waiting to recognize an already cataloged virus, EDR watches what happens on each device and acts the moment suspicious behavior appears. The cycle has four stages.

Continuous monitoring

A lightweight agent records what happens on the device 24 hours a day: processes that start, files that change, network connections and logins.

Behavior-based detection

Using analytics and machine learning, EDR spots attack patterns even without a known signature, including zero-day and fileless attacks.

Investigation and context

When it flags something, it reconstructs the origin: how it got in, what it touched and where it was headed. This is the root-cause analysis antivirus does not do.

Containment and response

It isolates the device from the network, kills the malicious process and, when possible, rolls back the damage, before the attack spreads.

Source: N-able Cyber Encyclopedia.

What EDR catches that antivirus misses

Fileless attacks Malicious code that runs straight in memory, without installing a file that antivirus could recognize.
Zero-day threats Brand-new attacks with no published signature yet. Antivirus only reacts once the threat is in the catalog.
A legitimate account in the wrong hands A stolen credential that behaves like a real user: antivirus sees a valid login, EDR notices the abnormal pattern.
Lateral movement The intruder hopping from one device to another across the network, something antivirus, tied to each machine, cannot follow.
Ransomware in action EDR interrupts encryption in progress and, in many cases, reverses what has already been encrypted.

Why antivirus alone is no longer enough

11 days

median time an intruder goes unnoticed on the network (Mandiant 2025)

$ 4.44M

average cost of a data breach (IBM 2025)

44%

of data breaches involve ransomware (Verizon DBIR 2025)

The problem is not that antivirus always fails, it is that it only recognizes what it already knows. Modern threats change shape, run without a file and use legitimate credentials, and slip past the signature. Meanwhile, the intruder stays on the network for a median of 11 days before being noticed (Mandiant, M-Trends 2025), plenty of time to steal data and set up the attack. Add the cost: a data breach runs an average of $ 4.44 million (IBM, Cost of a Data Breach 2025), and ransomware, which EDR was built to contain, now appears in 44% of all breaches (Verizon, DBIR 2025). Zamak recommends EDR on 100% of endpoints precisely because the window between infection and detection is where the damage forms.

How to choose and adopt EDR

EDR helps little if no one watches the alerts. In practice, what sets good endpoint defense apart is:

EDR on 100% of devicesServers, computers and phones. A single uncovered endpoint is the door the attack looks for.
Managed response, not just alertsDetecting at 3 a.m. means nothing if no one acts. Detection needs a team that responds.
Automatic containmentIsolate the device and kill the process in seconds, without waiting for a human to type the command.
Rollback and root causeUndo the damage and understand how it got in, to close the gap, not just put out the fire.
Integration with email and identityMost attacks start with phishing or a credential. EDR is one layer, not the only one.

In practice

EDR without someone to respond is half a defense. The technology detects; the response is delivered by a team on call.

How Zamak handles EDR

Zamak Technologies deploys advanced endpoint defense across every device and keeps it under monitoring with managed response, so detection becomes containment before the attack spreads. A good starting point is the cybersecurity diagnostic, which shows where your company still relies on antivirus alone. It is part of Cybersecurity in the Zamak Method.

Frequently asked questions about EDR

What is the difference between EDR and antivirus?

Antivirus recognizes already-known threats by their signature and alerts, often too late. EDR watches behavior, detects what is new (zero-day, fileless attacks), contains in real time and reconstructs the root cause. That is why Zamak treats EDR as the evolution of antivirus, not an add-on to it.

Does EDR replace antivirus?

In practice, EDR already includes and surpasses traditional antivirus protection. Zamak's recommendation is EDR on 100% of endpoints. Keeping antivirus on some workstations and EDR on the servers is a temporary stopgap while a company grows its budget, never the ideal destination.

What is the difference between EDR, MDR and XDR?

EDR is the technology that protects endpoints. MDR is the service that adds a human team on call to watch and respond for you. XDR extends the correlation beyond the endpoint, linking email, identity, network and cloud into a single view.

Does a small company need EDR?

Yes. Automated attacks do not pick by size, and antivirus alone lets new threats through. Managed EDR gives a small company the level of defense that only large ones used to have.

Is EDR alone enough?

It is an essential layer, but not the only one. Real defense combines EDR with email security, a second identity check and someone to respond to the alerts. Detection without response does not contain the attack.

Does EDR slow computers down?

The modern agent is lightweight and runs in the background. The day-to-day impact is minimal, far smaller than an operation halted by an attack antivirus never saw.