Cybersecurity: why choose a Best-of-Breed approach?

Can an all-in-one security tool properly meet all your needs, with the level of customization that really corresponds to your cyber context and existing processes?  

Let’s see why, despite the claimed simplicity of All-in-One, some CISOs swear by Best-of-Breed, i.e. specialized solutions, and let’s explore in detail the benefits this principle implies at HarfangLab.  

R&D focused on targeted cyber expertise 

A specialized publisher is dedicated to its core expertise over the long term, rather than switching according to the latest trends to focus on what is likely to sell better.  

For an EDR, for example, it’s a guarantee that you’ll benefit from regular innovations and upgrades to protect your endpoints even better, rather than seeing this aspect neglected in favor of new products that aren’t always in phase with your immediate needs.  

In concrete terms, at HarfangLab, the work of our technical teams culminates in a monthly release, as much to integrate new features as to improve existing ones and provide ever better endpoint protection. 

Focus on data transparency and comprehensiveness to make analysts’ work easier  

“An all-in-one solution makes it easier to exploit information, since everything is brought together in a single tool.”   

There’s no arguing in theory, but what data is accessible in practice? Is it all available and easily exploitable?   

The role of a cybersecurity solution provider is to facilitate the work of analysts on a day-to-day basis, both for monitoring and for investigating incidents. It’s as much about protecting an Information System as it is about enhancing knowledge of the context and the ability to anticipate and react to threats.   

That’s why our EDR makes 100% of detection data and rules accessible, helping to categorize and prioritize security events, and investigate incidents more rapidly.   

This data is also crucial for evolving a roadmap based on knowledge of an organization’s context.  

For all these reasons, comprehensiveness and transparency must take priority over centralization.   

Enable cyber experts to choose the environment in which to operate the EDR 

We mentioned our role as a facilitator for cyber experts, and this is also reflected in the many connectors available on our platform, which can be 100% API-driven.  

On the one hand, HarfangLab is intrinsically designed to connect to other solutions.    

On the other hand, the fact that HarfangLab can be 100% API-driven means that experts can choose the environment from which to manage their EDR.   

In this way, they can take full advantage of optimal detection and remediation capabilities, under the conditions they define and that suit them, while limiting the impact of EDR deployment on internal processes already in place.  

And we’re not just thinking about analysts, we’re also thinking about business teams! 

Preserving the productivity of business teams   

“I don’t want to add anything that might slow down endpoints.”   

This is a common misconception among our prospects, and be sure productivity is a priority for us too!   

Our goal: maximum Information System protection, and minimum impact on endpoints.   

That’s why we monitor the performance of both our agents and our AI models, which we optimize on an ongoing basis.   

On average, our agents consume around 130MB of RAM and 0.5% of CPU. On the AI side, we run deep learning algorithms that weigh less than 5MB. So that security rhymes with user experience!  

Our EDR is totally transparent to Information System users, even during updates that require no reboot. 

Guarantee CISOs independence and control of their budgets over the long term 

In a view to optimize a cybersecurity budget, an all-in-one solution may be tempting to rationalize costs.  

But it’s a double-edged sword. An all-in-one solution provider may make an attractive offer when you first subscribe, then offer additional bundles, only to raise the price when you renew.  

Eventually, rather than embarking on a colossal project to redeploy a complete security stack, customers will prefer to renew with the same vendor… despite a drastic price increase.  

In other words, choosing a specialized solution means remaining independent when it comes to putting together your own cyber stack, and choosing the building blocks you really need in complete autonomy, with no surprises in terms of budget.  

To conclude, as we mentioned in our introduction that some CISOs swear by Best-of-Breed, let’s see why it’s also favored by the network of partners who trust us to protect their own customers’ Information Systems. 

The validation of a trusted partners network

A partner, or MSSP, identifies the best tools for protecting an Information System. Their experts follow advanced training on the various solutions they recommend and operate, and they handle data processing and analysis on behalf of their customers.   

HarfangLab is distributed via a network of recognized and trusted partners, who also offer packaged solutions. So everything is kept simple for organizations wishing to protect their infrastructure as effectively as possible, by outsourcing the management of their cybersecurity tools!  

More precisely, what are the advantages of relying on an MSSP
to manage an EDR?  Let’s find out: