NDR: The X-Ray Vision Your Network Needs to Unmask Hidden Threats
- By John Yang, Progress
- January 12, 2025

For decades, endpoint protection has been a crucial aspect of organizations’ security strategies, entrusted to protect their devices from malicious attacks. But today’s network is vast and ever-expanding, encompassing a multitude of devices — from traditional desktops and laptops to smartphones and IoT gadgets — each able to connect and gain access from anywhere and everywhere.
Unfortunately, this convenience also means that every one of these devices can potentially become an entry point for cyber threats. And when these numbers are in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, can organizations still depend on traditional endpoint security to keep them safe?
Based on the constant drumbeat of successful cyberattacks, the answer seems to be a resounding no.
Case in point: according to the Cyber Security Agency’s (CSA) first-ever Singapore Cybersecurity Health Report, cyberattacks are a constant thorn in the sides of today's organizations — with over 80% having encountered a cybersecurity incident in the span of a year. About half encounter such incidents several times a year. The CSA’s advisory goes on to underscore the need to strengthen cyber defense, specifically against the likes of ransomware, social engineering scams and the exploitation of cloud misconfigurations.
Here’s where Network Detection and Response (NDR) becomes crucial.
Filling the gaps in endpoint and network security
While they remain essential tools in cybersecurity, endpoint detection response (EDR) and security information and event management (SIEM) have inherent limitations. EDR, for instance, is adept at monitoring endpoints for suspicious activity. However, it has limitations. It cannot detect devices without the latest agents installed, nor can it detect instances where attackers have already breached the network and are moving laterally between systems. SIEM, which specializes in collecting and analyzing log data, can also face challenges. It may struggle to detect threats that do not generate logs or are hidden within the overwhelming volume of log data and false positives.
Utilizing a combination of network telemetry data, advanced analytics, and threat intelligence, NDR can eliminate these blind spots. NDR directly analyzes network traffic patterns for anomalies and cuts through the noise in SIEM data to identify and highlight critical security issues for immediate investigation.
In fact, NDR, EDR and SIEM complement each other so well that they have been dubbed the “SOC Visibility Triad” by Gartner. Together, they deliver enhanced security for the network, servers, and endpoints, achieving a level of protection surpassing what each offers individually.
Securing hybrid and cloud environments
It is difficult to imagine any organization that has yet to embark on a cloud migration journey. As such, it’s high time that decision-makers realize that traditional security tools were never designed to protect cloud and hybrid infrastructures. SIEM systems that depend on log files or agent-based EDR solutions struggle to secure cloud environments and can create management complications.
On the other hand, agentless and cloud-native NDR solutions offer a more holistic perspective across the entire network, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or everywhere in between. This unified view enables organizations to proactively detect and respond to threats from any source, allowing them to confidently embrace the cloud without sacrificing security.
Seeing through the veil of encryption
Encryption is a great way for modern organizations to safeguard sensitive data, comply with data privacy regulations and even minimize the impact of data breaches. However, traditional security solutions, which typically rely on deep packet inspection to detect threats, cannot see what’s hidden within encrypted data. Threat actors can exploit this to their advantage and cover their activities.
Since NDR makes use of behavioral analysis and anomaly detection, encrypted traffic is not a hindrance. This capability to analyze encrypted traffic for suspicious behavior, without decryption, is vital as it can detect malicious activities that would otherwise remain hidden. It provides X-ray vision for network security..
Staying ahead of new and unknown threats
Traditional security solutions that rely on signatures may work well in identifying known threats, but they are less effective against new and emerging threats. The problem is that modern-day threats are always evolving and adapting.
Keeping up requires a proactive approach. NDR solutions, powered by heuristic and machine learning (ML) algorithms, continuously learn and adapt. This allows organizations to combat zero-day attacks and novel malware even before signatures are available.
Statistics show that the NDR market size, valued at USD$2.64 billion in 2023, is expected to expand rapidly at a CAGR of 15.5% from 2024 to 2032. This rapid growth is a necessity, as organizations that fail to adopt NDR solutions risk being overwhelmed by increasingly sophisticated threat actors seeking to exploit blind spots in traditional security measures. With the rising frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks and the growing complexity of networks due to IoT and cloud adoption, the greater network observability afforded by NDR will be key to staying ahead in the fight against cybercrime.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CDOTrends. Image credit: iStockphoto/Veronika Oliinyk
John Yang, Progress