What is XDR?

Traditional security stacks — Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) — each address pieces of the detection and response puzzle, but they struggle to correlate attacks spanning endpoints, cloud, identity, and network traffic in real time. As a result, threats slip through the cracks while Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts are buried in alerts.

With its ability to eliminate data silos, reduce noise, and enhance visibility across an organization’s entire attack surface, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) helps teams connect disparate events faster, prioritizing real risks over false alarms. Ultimately, XDR is about making security operations faster, smarter, and more effective. But is it right for everyone? While we’ve looked at EDR vs XDR and XDR solutions, in this article, we’ll concentrate on everything you need to know about XDR itself, from how it works to its main components, implementation tips, and more. 

What is XDR?

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) is a security solution that integrates and correlates threat data across multiple security layers — endpoints like laptops and virtual machines (VMs), cloud, networks, and identities — to detect and respond to attacks in real time. Unlike siloed tools, XDR provides unified visibility, reduces alert noise, and automates response for faster, more effective threat mitigation.

History and Evolution of XDR

Security operations tools have historically been fragmented and reactive, forcing security teams to manually correlate logs, sift through disparate alerts, and try to reconstruct attack narratives across multiple systems. XDR evolved from earlier security solutions, namely EDR and SIEM, enhancing their core capabilities to address that core limitation.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) improved visibility into endpoint-based threats, but it still left gaps in network activity, cloud workloads, and identity security. SIEMs attempted to centralize security data, but they relied heavily on predefined rules and required extensive tuning, often overwhelming analysts with too many low-fidelity alerts. 

The result? 

Attackers could exploit gaps between security tools and move laterally across an organization’s infrastructure undetected.

Today, adversaries rarely rely on a single attack vector. 

Instead, they chain multiple techniques together, pivoting between compromised endpoints, cloud workloads, SaaS applications, and identity-based attacks to evade detection. A single breach might start with a phishing email that steals credentials, followed by unauthorized cloud access, lateral movement across hybrid environments, and eventually, data exfiltration. Without a way to correlate activity across these domains in real time, security teams struggle to piece together the full scope of an attack.

This is why Extended Detection and Response (XDR) emerged. 

Unlike legacy security tools that operate in silos, XDR integrates telemetry from multiple security layers — endpoints, cloud, network, identity, and applications — correlating threat signals automatically. 

XDR is at the forefront of reducing alert fatigue, improving detection accuracy, and providing a unified threat narrative instead of disjointed alerts. 

By prioritizing high-confidence threats and enabling automated response across multiple domains, XDR lets security teams contain multi-stage attacks faster, minimizing damage and reducing dwell time.

Key Components and Capabilities of XDR

XDR wasn’t the first to tackle alert fatigue and tool sprawl, but it was among a vanguard of solutions to natively integrate multiple detection layers in a way that prioritized automated correlation and response across domains.

“Security teams are spending too much time correlating between tools, exporting and importing data, and trying to make sense of fragmented alerts.”

— Joshua Bergin, CPO, Upwind

XDR correlated security signals across multiple domains, from endpoints to network, identity, cloud, and SaaS, to improve detection and response. That was distinct from SIEM and EDR, which had existed before. For one, it reduced noise by automatically correlating alerts instead of dumping logs into a SIEM for manual triage. It also integrated security layers natively, instead of requiring separate tools. Further, XDR automated response beyond endpoints, unlike EDR, which could only isolate devices. 

XDR created a single attack story rather than simply triggering multiple alerts. It still does. Today, typical XDR features include:

Feature	XDR	SIEM	EDR	SOAR	CNAPP
Cross-Domain Threat Correlation	Yes, native	No, manual rules	No, endpoint only	Depends on integrations	Yes, often cloud specific but can include on-prem
Automated Incident Response	Yes, built-in	No, manual response	Limited, isolates devices	Yes, custom playbooks	May be limited to cloud runtime threats
Behavioral Analytics & AI-Driven Detection	Yes	Partial, depending on custom rules	Yes	No, relies on predefined automation	Yes
Noise Reduction & Alert Prioritization	Yes, automated correlation	No, SOC triage required	Limited, high alert volume	Limited, relies on SIEM data	Yes, cloud risk prioritization
Seamless Integration with Existing Security Stack	Yes, SIEM, SOAR, EDR, CNAPP	Yes, but requires tuning	Limited, with SIEM and SOAR	Yes, custom workflows	Yes
Lateral Movement Detection	Yes, endpoint, network, identity	No, relies on logs	Only endpoint-to-endpoint	No	Yes, cloud-native attack paths

A CNAPP that includes on-prem, hybrid, and cloud protection is particularly valuable for organizations with legacy data centers, cloud workloads, and interconnected environments, taking on many of the aspects of XDR solutions. Here’s what that might look like in terms of security:

Imagine a large financial institution that operates both on-prem servers for sensitive transactions and hybrid cloud workloads for customer-facing applications. An attacker might start by exploiting a misconfigured AWS S3 bucket, gaining access to an overly permissive IAM role that allows them to escalate privileges. From there, they could move laterally into an Azure-hosted database, then pivot into an on-prem data center through a hybrid VPN connection that links cloud workloads to legacy banking systems. 

Traditional XDR solutions, which focus on correlating endpoint, identity, and network alerts, might detect unusual authentication attempts but lack insight into cloud-native attack paths and workload misconfigurations that enabled the breach in the first place. 

In this case, a CNAPP built to cover on-prem, hybrid, and cloud environments would identify the misconfiguration before it was exploited, track lateral movement across cloud workloads, and prevent unauthorized compute instances from being spun up, while correlating identity-based attacks with misconfiguration risks.

While it doesn’t focus on endpoints themselves, it can be a good candidate for correlating attack paths, especially those that involve cloud workloads.

Benefits of XDR for Cybersecurity

The capabilities of XDR lend themselves to multiple team benefits, not only in terms of addressing advanced threats and remediating them before they spread, but in operational gains. Here are the key advantages:

1. Strengthened Security Posture 

Identifying and containing threats before they escalate into full-blown breaches is one of the markers of a strong security posture, but it’s tough to connect the dots across disparate security tools to stop attacks in their tracks. XDR collects data from multiple domains to produce high-fidelity alerts that strengthen security postures and combat malicious activities like advanced persistent threats (APTs), malware, lateral movement, and ransomware attacks.

2. Operational Efficiency

When security solutions operate independently, it forces analysts to manually correlate data across different tools, which is a time-consuming and error-prone process. XDR cuts down on alert fatigue by presenting only actionable cyber threats. It also speeds up investigations by automatically linking related alerts across different security layers. Another efficiency benefit comes from reducing the need for excessive manual threat analysis.

3. Cost Savings

The longer an attacker remains undetected, the higher the potential for financial and reputational damage. XDR reduces response time by automating threat containment across multiple security layers. With faster response times to cyberattacks, teams reduce the financial risk from data breaches. 

4. Compliance Readiness and Risk Reduction

XDR isn’t just about endpoint protection. It also helps teams meet and document compliance with PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, and other frameworks. Many of these frameworks mandate continuous monitoring, threat detection, and auditability of security events. However, without centralized visibility across multiple attack surfaces, proving compliance is a pipe dream.

How XDR Works

But the inner workings of what kind of endpoint scrutiny, how much, when it happens, and how it’s handled can be inscrutable. 

Ultimately, XDR’s integrated system ingests, correlates, and responds to security threats across multiple attack surfaces. But it’s not the same as SIEMs, which passively collect logs, or SOAR tools, which orchestrate predefined workflows. What exactly does XDR do differently in the service of threat detection on endpoints and the rest of the environment? Here is a technical breakdown of how it works and what examples might look like.

1. Data Collection: Unified Telemetry

XDR unifies silos and aggregates security telemetry from multiple domains to create a holistic view of an organization’s threat landscape. 

• Endpoint Data: Captures process execution, registry changes, file modifications, script execution (e.g., PowerShell, Bash), and memory manipulation attempts.
• Network Traffic & DNS Logs: Monitors east-west traffic, encrypted command-and-control (C2) channels, and lateral movement attempts (e.g., unusual RDP or SMB traffic).
• Identity & Access Events: Ingests IAM logs (AWS IAM, Azure AD, Okta), detecting privilege escalation, anomalous login patterns, and MFA bypass attempts.
• Cloud API Calls & Workload Activity: Tracks misconfigurations, excessive permissions, and suspicious data access events.

This aggregation of telemetry data from disparate sources eliminates blind spots. Instead of security teams stitching evidence together manually, XDR does it automatically in real time.

2. Threat Detection

Once telemetry is ingested, XDR applies AI, behavior-based analytics, and correlation engines to detect multi-stage attacks. Unlike SIEMs, which rely on static rule-based detection, XDR understands relationships between security events, reducing false positives and surfacing true threats.

For example, there might be a situation where a user logs into an AWS environment from an unusual IP.  As a result of this, XDR detects API enumeration attempts, and security logs show the same user performing suspicious S3 bucket access. Instead of generating three separate alerts, XDR correlates them into one unified incident, reducing noise, showing the progression of the attack, and improving detection accuracy.

3. Automated Response

Once a threat is confirmed, XDR automates certain containment actions to try to cut off bad actors before they escalate an attack. Unlike EDR, which only isolates endpoints and kills malicious processes on those systems, XDR can execute responses across other areas of IT infrastructure. Automated responses include revoking compromised IAM roles, disabling access tokens, updating firewall rules, and more.  

There will, of course, be cases where security teams need to investigate more complex incidents. But as a baseline level of threat detection and automated orchestration of real-time response actions, XDR empowers security teams to detect, investigate, and neutralize threats faster than they otherwise could. 

Implementation Challenges and Best Practices for XDR

While XDR offers transformative security benefits, implementing it effectively requires overcoming some core challenges. What secondary problems do teams typically see?

One of the primary implementation challenges is data integration. XDR thrives on high-quality telemetry from endpoints, networks, cloud environments, identity systems, and security tools, and is only as effective as its data is reliable. However, many organizations struggle with data silos, vendor lock-in, and incompatible security architectures. To maximize XDR’s effectiveness, organizations should prioritize solutions that offer broad API integrations. 

Another major hurdle is alert volume and tuning. While XDR is designed to reduce noise by correlating security events, improper configuration can still lead to alert overload. Security teams should continuously refine detection policies and rules in alignment with their specific threat landscape — a task that requires time and attention. Running pilot deployments in a controlled environment before full-scale implementation helps fine-tune detection thresholds. 

Automation is another area where organizations must strike the right balance. XDR’s ability to automate response actions by isolating endpoints, revoking compromised credentials, and blocking malicious traffic is valuable. However, automating every response without oversight can cause unintended disruptions or risks. What’s the perfect balance? Security teams should establish tiered response playbooks in which they prudently decide which alerts require manual human review. 

Finally, XDR adoption requires upskilling security teams. While XDR simplifies threat detection and response, it introduces new workflows and analytical capabilities that analysts must be able to navigate. Investing in training programs, using vendor-provided knowledge bases, and running team exercises with XDR ensures that security teams can fully understand and benefit from the platform’s capabilities.

Secure Your Cloud Ecosystem with Upwind 

XDR is a powerful force multiplier for security operations, addressing endpoint security but incorporating data sources on multiple levels to protect more — with less work. While XDR can surface cloud-related threats, it does not provide workload-level visibility and runtime protection that cloud-native environments demand. Upwind fills those gaps, complementing endpoint telemetry so teams can cover their entire cloud ecosystem. 

Want to see how to get rid of blind spots across your cloud ecosystem? Get a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does XDR differ from traditional security solutions?

XDR goes beyond traditional security tools like EDR, SIEM, and SOAR by:

• Automatically correlating threats across multiple attack surfaces — including endpoints, cloud, identity, and network traffic. 
• Automating response beyond isolated alerts — while SOAR automates security workflows, it relies on pre-configured playbooks. XDR natively automates threat response across endpoints, cloud workloads, and user accounts, reducing dwell time.
• Filtering out noise to surface-level threats — traditional tools generate high alert volumes, but without needed context. XDR prioritizes the most relevant threats by automatically correlating related alerts and reducing false positives.

How does XDR improve security operations? 

Before XDR, teams had to correlate security events manually and in the context of hundreds of alerts without context. XDR reduces alert fatigue, correlates alerts to put together attack patterns and paths without digging, and as it does so, it streamlines investigations and accelerates threat response.

XDR has eliminated manual log analysis of these events as it has surfaced high-priority, multi-stage attacks faster. Automated containment actions like isolating compromised endpoints or revoking risky IAM permissions also reduce dwell time and SOC workload.

What resources are needed for XDR implementation? 

XDR can’t do its job of correlating data without integration with existing security tools and telemetry sources, configuration of detection rules, and tuning of automated response workflows. 

To embark on an XDR implementation, organizations need cloud-based or on-premises infrastructure to support data collection, API integrations with security tools, and trained analysts to interpret high-level threat insights.

How does XDR integrate with existing security tools?

XDR ingests and correlates data from EDR, SIEM, Network Detection and Response (NDR), CSPM, and IAM solutions, among others, and serves as the central intelligence layer in a security system. It doesn’t replace these tools, but it improves their effectiveness by automating analysis and manual correlation work, just as teams might use runtime insights to feed SOAR and SIEM tools extra data. Here are key integrations and what they contribute: 

• SIEM: Enriches log data with real-time threat correlation and prioritization.
• SOAR: Automates playbooks using XDR’s high-fidelity alerts for faster response.
• EDR and NDR: Connects endpoint and network telemetry to detect lateral movement.
• Cloud security integration: Monitors cloud workloads, APIs, and IAM for suspicious activity.