The Role of Expert Teams in MDR: A Human-Centric Approach

With so many automated security tools on the market, it’s tempting to believe they’re a superior solution for threat detection. The reality, however, is that over-reliance on machine-driven alerts can leave organizations exposed to overlooked threats. While automation boosts efficiency by making light work of large amounts of data, it lacks the adaptive understanding and nuanced context that human intelligence provides. As the cost of a data breach has averaged $4.88 million in 2024, largely due to disruptions and post-breach fallout, companies are turning to expert-driven Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions to mitigate these costs. Critical Start’s MDR combines advanced automation with the in-depth analysis of experienced Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts, ensuring not only the detection but also the effective mitigation of threats.

Why Automation Alone Falls Short

Automated systems excel at processing vast data volumes, but they often struggle to differentiate between critical threats and benign anomalies. This limitation, without skilled oversight, can lead to an overwhelming number of false positives, causing alert fatigue and increasing the chance of missing real threats. While automation saved some companies an average of $2.2 million in breach-related costs, it alone isn’t sufficient against sophisticated attacks. Complex behaviors like credential theft and lateral movement require a trained eye to identify and address effectively. By pairing automation with expert SOC analysis, Critical Start enhances detection accuracy, helping avoid costly breaches caused by missed signals.

The Essential Role of Human Expertise in Critical Start’s MDR Solution

At Critical Start, our MDR solution pairs automation with human insight for a balanced, adaptive approach to cyber threats. Our SOC is staffed by analysts who each receive over 300 hours of specialized training annually. This focus on human-driven analysis enables our team to deliver crucial context that automated tools alone cannot achieve, resulting in more accurate and customized threat responses. For companies facing skill shortages — often linked to increased breach costs of up to $1.76 million — our approach bridges the gap with highly trained experts, strengthening overall security resilience.

The Power of Automation + Human Analysis

1. Comprehensive Signal Coverage with SOC Signal Assurance
   • Effective MDR begins with complete visibility of all threat signals. Through SOC Signal Assurance, we monitor for EDR gaps, log ingestion issues, and unmonitored assets, eliminating potential blind spots that attackers could exploit. This complete visibility is critical, as breaches involving compromised credentials take an average of 292 days to detect and contain. With over 100 log sources, Critical Start ensures full monitoring across IT and OT environments, providing the end-to-end visibility needed for swift and accurate threat response.
2. Proactive and Contextual Threat Detection
   • Our Trusted Behavior Registry^® (TBR^®) enhances detection by automatically resolving known false positives, allowing analysts to focus on complex, emerging threats. This proactive system reduces alert fatigue and ensures analysts can direct their attention to targeted threat-hunting. By adding expert context to each alert, our SOC team identifies nuanced threats early, reducing the risks associated with delayed responses and enhancing security for each unique environment.
3. SOC Transparency and Real-Time Response with MOBILESOC®
   • Transparency and fast responses are critical in managing cyber incidents. With Critical Start’s SOC Transparency, customers have a real-time view of threat activity and incident management. Our MOBILESOC^® app enables customers to interact with our SOC from anywhere, not just executing containment actions like host isolation and account disabling, but also communicating with SOC analysts to drill down into alerts and talk through evidence and reasoning. This mobility and fast communication are essential in an era when 70% of organizations report significant business disruptions from breaches. MOBILESOC® empowers security leaders to respond to threats swiftly, reducing both operational impact and financial loss.
4. Customized Response and Continuous Improvement
   • We don’t rely on a cookie-cutter approach or one-size-fits-all detection and response model. Our MDR is tailored to fit each customer’s specific needs, offering flexible deployment across diverse environments and customized Rules of Engagement (ROE). By implementing tailored detection rules and asset criticality ratings, we ensure our human-driven responses align with each organization’s risk profile. Continuous improvement is reinforced by our SOC’s guidance on optimizing security configurations, providing customers with a robust, evolving defense against emerging threats — a focus in line with Gartner’s emphasis on effective threat exposure management.
5. Strengthening Resilience with MITRE ATT&CK® Mitigations
   • To build resilience, Critical Start incorporates MITRE ATT&CK^® mitigation recommendations into our platform, enabling our SOC team to recommend configurations that close security gaps and minimize the probability of repeat attacks. By focusing on proactive defenses, we help customers stay protected against both known and emerging threats, building a security posture that adapts with the evolving threat landscape.

Key Takeaways: The Value of a Human-Driven, Proactive MDR Solution

In today’s threat landscape, automation alone isn’t enough. Critical Start’s human-driven MDR blends advanced technology with expert analysis, providing real-time, contextual insights that help organizations stay resilient. Our SOC analysts deliver tailored guidance and response strategies, minimizing risks and the high costs associated with data breaches, from response delays to business disruptions.

With Critical Start, your organization gains a security partner that seamlessly integrates technology with essential human expertise, reducing risk and supporting a more resilient future. Want to learn more? Get in touch with our experts now.