How to Deploy NDR the Right Way

How to Implement an NDR System Correctly

Connecting traffic to the sensor and activating the system is just the first step. For an NDR (Network Detection and Response) system to identify suspicious activity and provide real value to security teams, the implementation must begin with understanding the network and the assets it aims to protect.

Traffic Coverage

One of the most crucial steps is to decide which traffic the system needs to see and identify the correct collection points. Traffic is typically categorized into several types:

North-South Traffic

This refers to traffic entering or exiting the organization, such as internet browsing, access to external services, or communication between an external user and an organizational system. Monitoring North-South traffic can help detect communication with suspicious destinations, unusual data transfers, or unexpected access to organizational systems.

East-West Traffic

This is internal traffic between workstations, servers, segments, and systems within the organizational network. This traffic is especially important for detecting an attacker who has already breached the environment and is attempting to move laterally between assets, access additional servers, or escalate privileges.

Inter-Site and Branch Traffic

Many organizations operate multiple branches, data centers, or separate environments. If the traffic between them is not monitored, anomalous activity moving from one site to another could go undetected.

Cloud Traffic

When some systems operate in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, it is essential to ensure visibility into communication between cloud resources, across different cloud environments, and between the cloud and the on-premises network.

Remote Users

Remote work changes traffic paths. Users may connect via VPN, SSE services, or directly to cloud applications. Therefore, it is important to understand whether their traffic indeed passes through a point that the NDR can monitor. Improperly placed collection points can create blind spots, leaving entire areas without visibility.

Data Quality

It's not enough to simply feed traffic into the system. You need to ensure that the sensor receives relevant information, that there is no overload or data loss, and that assets, users, and communications in the environment can be correctly identified.

Environment Learning

An NDR system relies on behavioral analysis. Therefore, it is crucial to allow it to learn the organization's normal activity patterns and evaluate findings within the business context. Not every anomaly is an attack, and not all legitimate activity is necessarily expected.

Integrations

Connecting to Identity, EDR, SIEM, SOAR, and other data sources allows for adding context to every detection:

• Who was the user who performed the action?
• Which asset is involved?
• Is there suspicious activity on the endpoint as well?
• Was the same event detected in other systems?

Response Process

Even the most accurate detection is insufficient if it's unclear who handles it. During the implementation phase, it is essential to define how findings reach the relevant team, what requires investigation, when escalation occurs, and what response actions can be initiated.

Continuous Improvement

Networks evolve, new services are added, and usage patterns develop. Therefore, coverage, data quality, integrations, and the findings handling process must be continuously reviewed.

NDR implementation does not end when the system starts receiving traffic. It succeeds when the system provides broad visibility, adds context to network activity, and enables the security team to identify and investigate threats more efficiently.