The sprawling SolarWinds cyberattacks and new hacks of Microsoft email systems have hit the cybersecurity world hard. After successfully protecting remote workers and US elections in 2020, even the largest companies have been flummoxed by this year's sophisticated nation-state attacks.

What, if anything, can stop the SolarWinds attacks of the future?

The shining hope is a trend called "extended detection and response," known as XDR. It is cybersecurity's next big thing, fueling big acquisitions and big revenue – and big hopes that it can stop the biggest future attacks.

XDR software gathers data from previously siloed parts of a company, like employees' laptops, phones, email, and cloud servers. XDR programs then stitch the data together to produce a comprehensive view of a company for cybersecurity teams. Then XDR uses artificial intelligence to "learn" what a normal network looks like, and how to spot anomalies – like hackers. When those hacks happen, XDR pulls together highly relevant data and recommendations for how to respond.

More than anything else, experts say, XDR saves time and helps understaffed cybersecurity teams to focus on what's important, even as recent events show that the potential dangers are only growing....

Enterprise customers are getting out their wallets for XDR, too. PitchBook wrote that "70% of IT and security teams are planning to budget for XDR over the next 6-12 months." PitchBook says the startups that will clean up include Cybereason and SentinelOne as well as new entrants Hunters, Confluera, and Kognos.

Read the full article here: https://www.businessinsider.com/xdr-cybersecurity-trend-solarwinds-microsoft-sentinelone-crowdstrike-hackers-ai-security-2021-3