Glossary / EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)
EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)
Security software that continuously monitors endpoint activity for signs of compromise and gives a security team the tools to investigate, contain, and remediate a threat on that device remotely.
Traditional antivirus works mostly on signature matching — does this file match a known-bad pattern. EDR works differently: it continuously records endpoint activity (process execution, network connections, file and registry changes) and applies behavioral detection to catch things that look malicious even without a matching signature, including "living-off-the-land" attacks that abuse legitimate, already-installed tools rather than dropping obviously malicious files.
The "response" half is what separates EDR from pure monitoring: when a detection fires, an analyst — or an automated playbook — can isolate the endpoint from the network, kill a malicious process, roll back a change, or pull a forensic timeline of exactly what happened, all remotely and without needing physical access to the machine.
EDR increasingly shows up bundled or layered with MDR (Managed Detection and Response, where a third-party SOC actually watches the alerts) and XDR (Extended Detection and Response, correlating signal across endpoints, network, and cloud). For a buyer, the practical question matters more than the acronym: who is watching the alerts at 2 a.m., and how fast can they actually act on one.
How Nexus handles this
Nexus's security suite doesn't replace a dedicated EDR agent, but the same discipline applies to what it does cover — vulnerability findings and breach-monitoring alerts land as a ticket with an owner and an SLA in the PSA a technician is already working, not a report sitting unread in a separate console.
More terms
MSP (Managed Service Provider)
A company that remotely manages a client's IT infrastructure and end-user systems on an ongoing, proactive basis — usually a flat-fee contract, not break-fix billing.
RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management)
Software that lets an MSP monitor device health and perform remote management tasks — patching, scripting, remote control — across every client site from one console.
PSA (Professional Services Automation)
Software that runs the business side of MSP operations — ticketing, SLAs, billing, contracts, and client records — the system of record most MSP work flows through.
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