Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) Management SOP¶

Standard Operating Procedure for managed endpoint protection and response services

Service Pillar: Operate Service Category: Managed Security Engagement Type: Ongoing Monthly Retainer Related Pricing: See Pricing & Positioning

Service Overview¶

Purpose¶

Provide comprehensive endpoint detection and response (EDR) management including deployment, configuration, monitoring, threat response, and optimization of endpoint security platforms to protect client devices against advanced threats.

Target Personas¶

Persona	Primary Pain Point	Value Case
Solo IT Director	No time to manage security tools	Fully managed endpoint protection
CFO/Controller	Security tool ROI unclear	Measurable protection metrics
CTO/VP Engineering	Development environments at risk	DevOps-friendly security

Business Justification¶

Metric	Value	Source
Endpoints involved in breaches	70%	Ponemon Endpoint Security Report 2024
Traditional AV detection rate	50-60%	AV-TEST Malware Report 2024
EDR detection rate	95%+	MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations 2024
Mean time to contain with EDR	85% faster	CrowdStrike Global Threat Report 2024
Cost of endpoint breach	$4.88 million average	IBM Cost of Data Breach 2024
Organizations using EDR	68%	Gartner Endpoint Security Survey 2024

Pricing Reference¶

Tier	Coverage	Monthly Investment	Per-Endpoint Rate
Essential	<100 endpoints, monitoring + alerting	$20/endpoint/month	Minimum $1,500/month
Standard	100-500 endpoints, full management	$25-$30/endpoint/month	Includes response
Enterprise	500+ endpoints, dedicated analyst	$20-$25/endpoint/month	Volume discount

[BENCHMARK] Industry Pricing: - EDR/MDR services typically range $15-$40/endpoint/month (Forrester MDR Wave 2024) - Managed EDR: $8-$16/agent/month base (CrowdStrike Falcon Go) - Full MDR: $2.99-$30/endpoint/month (Huntress)

See Pricing & Positioning for complete pricing structure.

Supported Platforms¶

Primary EDR Platforms¶

Platform	Strengths	Best For
CrowdStrike Falcon	Industry-leading detection, cloud-native	Enterprise, high-security
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	M365 integration, cost-effective	Microsoft shops
SentinelOne	AI-powered, autonomous response	Automation-focused
Sophos Intercept X	SMB-friendly, included MDR	Cost-conscious SMBs
Huntress	Persistent footholds focus	MSP-friendly, SMB

Platform Selection Criteria¶

Factor	Consideration
Integration	Existing security stack compatibility
Licensing	Existing investments, bundling opportunities
Deployment	Agent compatibility, OS support
Features	Detection, response, forensics capabilities
Cost	Per-endpoint pricing, volume discounts

Pre-Engagement¶

Onboarding Checklist¶

Current endpoint protection solution documented
Endpoint inventory complete (OS, versions)
Deployment mechanism available (RMM, GPO, Intune)
Exclusion requirements identified
Critical systems classified
Rollback plan documented
Change management process confirmed

Technical Requirements¶

Component	Requirement	Notes
Operating Systems	Windows 10+, macOS 11+, Linux	Version-specific agent support
Connectivity	Internet access for cloud management	Proxy support if needed
Deployment Tool	RMM, SCCM, Intune, or GPO	Mass deployment capability
Admin Access	Local admin for installation	Temporary or persistent
Existing AV	Removal or compatibility plan	Conflict prevention

Deployment Timeline¶

Phase	Duration	Activities
Pilot	Week 1	Deploy to 5-10% of endpoints
Tuning	Week 2	Exclusions, policy refinement
Rollout	Weeks 3-4	Full deployment in phases
Optimization	Ongoing	Continuous tuning

Service Delivery Framework¶

EDR Management Model¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    EDR MANAGEMENT SERVICES                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                  │
│  DEPLOYMENT & CONFIGURATION                                     │
│  ├── Agent deployment and updates                               │
│  ├── Policy configuration and tuning                            │
│  ├── Exclusion management                                       │
│  └── Integration with SIEM/SOC                                  │
│                                                                  │
│  MONITORING & DETECTION                                         │
│  ├── Real-time threat monitoring                                │
│  ├── Alert triage and investigation                             │
│  ├── Threat hunting                                             │
│  └── IOC/TTP detection                                          │
│                                                                  │
│  RESPONSE & REMEDIATION                                         │
│  ├── Automated containment                                      │
│  ├── Remote isolation                                           │
│  ├── Malware removal                                            │
│  └── Recovery assistance                                        │
│                                                                  │
│  OPTIMIZATION & REPORTING                                       │
│  ├── Detection rule tuning                                      │
│  ├── Performance optimization                                   │
│  ├── Coverage reporting                                         │
│  └── Executive dashboards                                       │
│                                                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Detection Categories¶

Threat Type	Detection Method	Response
Malware Execution	Behavioral + signature	Block + quarantine
Ransomware	Canary files, encryption behavior	Isolate + rollback
Fileless Attacks	Memory analysis, script monitoring	Block + investigate
Credential Theft	LSASS protection, credential access	Alert + contain
Lateral Movement	Network anomalies, SMB abuse	Isolate + hunt
Persistence	Registry, scheduled tasks, services	Alert + remediate

Response Capabilities¶

Capability	Description	Automation Level
Process Termination	Kill malicious processes	Automated
Network Isolation	Disconnect from network	Manual + Automated
File Quarantine	Remove malicious files	Automated
Registry Cleanup	Remove persistence mechanisms	Manual
Remote Shell	Forensic investigation	Manual
Rollback	Restore from VSS/snapshots	Manual

Operational Procedures¶

Daily Operations¶

Task	Frequency	Description
Alert Review	Continuous	Triage all EDR alerts
Health Check	Daily	Verify agent connectivity
Update Status	Daily	Confirm signature updates
Threat Hunt	Daily	Proactive IOC searches

Weekly Operations¶

Task	Description
Coverage Report	Identify missing or unhealthy agents
Policy Review	Evaluate detection policies
Exclusion Audit	Review and validate exclusions
Performance Review	Check for agent performance issues

Monthly Operations¶

Task	Description
Executive Reporting	Detection metrics and trends
Detection Tuning	Optimize for false positive reduction
Platform Updates	Apply platform upgrades
Configuration Review	Validate policy alignment

SLA Commitments¶

Response Time SLAs¶

Alert Severity	Triage Time	Response Time	Resolution Target
Critical	<15 minutes	<30 minutes	<4 hours
High	<1 hour	<2 hours	<24 hours
Medium	<4 hours	<8 hours	<72 hours
Low	<24 hours	<48 hours	<1 week

Operational SLAs¶

Metric	Target	Measurement
Agent Coverage	98%+ of endpoints	Weekly
Agent Health	95%+ healthy	Daily
Update Currency	<24 hours behind	Daily
False Positive Rate	<5%	Monthly
Detection Accuracy	>95%	Monthly

Deliverables¶

Real-Time Deliverables¶

Deliverable	Frequency	Audience
Threat Alerts	Immediate	IT team
Containment Actions	As needed	IT team + affected users
Investigation Reports	Per incident	IT team + management

Periodic Reports¶

Report	Frequency	Content
Weekly Summary	Weekly	Alert statistics, agent health
Monthly Executive	Monthly	Threat landscape, metrics, recommendations
Quarterly Review	Quarterly	Strategic assessment, optimization roadmap
Annual Assessment	Annually	Platform evaluation, technology recommendations

Report Components¶

Monthly Executive Report: 1. Executive Summary 2. Threat Detection Summary - Total detections by category - Severity distribution - Response metrics 3. Endpoint Coverage - Deployment status - Agent health - Update status 4. Notable Incidents 5. Recommendations 6. Next Month Focus

Quality Assurance¶

Continuous Improvement¶

Activity	Frequency	Purpose
Detection Tuning	Weekly	False positive reduction
Policy Optimization	Monthly	Coverage improvement
Platform Evaluation	Quarterly	Technology assessment
Exclusion Review	Monthly	Security vs. usability balance

Quality Checks¶

All endpoints reporting to console
Definitions current within SLA
Policies aligned with best practices
Exclusions documented and justified
Response playbooks current
Integration with SOC operational

Service Quality Standards¶

Standard	Requirement
Analyst Training	Vendor certification required
Response Playbooks	Documented for common scenarios
Escalation Paths	Defined and tested
Backup Procedures	Agent deployment alternatives

Integration with Other Services¶

SIEM/SOC Integration¶

Integration Point	Data Flow	Value
Alert Forwarding	EDR → SIEM	Correlated detection
Investigation Support	SIEM ↔ EDR	Deep forensics
Threat Intelligence	TI → EDR	IOC blocking
Response Automation	SOAR ↔ EDR	Automated containment

Internal Service Integration¶

Service	Integration	Value
Managed SOC	Alert correlation	Unified detection
Vulnerability Management	Risk correlation	Attack surface context
Incident Response	Escalation path	Seamless response
Security Policy	Policy enforcement	Consistent controls

Service	Connection	SOP Reference
Managed SOC	Alert correlation	managed-soc-sop.md
Vulnerability Management	Endpoint risk	vulnerability-management-sop.md
Incident Response	Escalation	incident-response-sop.md
vCISO	Strategic oversight	vcto-vciso-engagement-sop.md
Penetration Testing	Detection validation	pentest-sop.md

Evidence Base¶

Why This Approach Works¶

Principle	Evidence	Source
EDR superior to AV	40% more detections	MITRE Evaluations 2024
Managed EDR more effective	50% faster response	Forrester MDR Analysis
Continuous monitoring critical	85% faster containment	CrowdStrike 2024
Endpoint visibility essential	70% of breaches involve endpoints	Ponemon 2024

SBK Success Metrics¶

Metric	Target	Measurement
Agent coverage	98%+	Weekly
Detection accuracy	95%+	Monthly
Client satisfaction	4.5+/5.0	Quarterly survey
Response SLA adherence	99%+	Monthly

References¶

Last Updated: February 2026 Version: 1.0