What Role Does Threat Intelligence Play in Managed Detection and Response?

At XChange March, Brittany Deaton, senior sales engineer at Sophos, delivered an eye-opening keynote on the critical role of threat intelligence in managed detection and response (MDR). Deaton walked the audience through a real-world incident where Sophos was called in to assist a Southeast Asian government entity already under attack by a Chinese nation-state actor. The adversary had been in the environment for years before Sophos’ team even began monitoring the network. Despite advanced security tools in place, the threat actors remained undetected by using stealthy techniques and deploying new tools that had never been seen before.

Deaton emphasized that traditional security tools alone aren’t enough to stop these types of attacks. “The tools are not enough,” she said. “The tools only work when you say, ‘I have a pattern, block this pattern.’” Deaton stressed the importance of human intelligence and active threat hunting to catch advanced threats. “You are only as good as your threat hunting and intelligence teams,” she said. Sophos’ threat intelligence team identified 13 different malware families in the compromised environment, proving that deep analysis and proactive threat hunting were key to understanding the attack and mounting an effective response. Deaton’s message to MSPs was clear: Strong MDR relies not only on tools but also on the expertise of a skilled threat intelligence team capable of adapting to evolving threats.

For more information, visit Sophos.com/MSP.