EDR Response Capabilities

Modern EDR platforms extend beyond detection to enable response. Investigation, containment, and remediation can occur remotely without physical access to endpoints.

Live Response

Remote shell access provides command-line access to endpoints. Investigate running processes, examine files, query registry, and collect evidence—all without being physically present.

Process inspection reveals running software. View process lists, command lines, loaded modules, and network connections in real time.

File examination enables viewing, downloading, or hashing files on remote systems. Retrieve malware samples, configuration files, or evidence for analysis.

Memory collection supports remote memory acquisition for volatile evidence.

Containment Actions

Network isolation removes endpoints from the network while maintaining management channel to the EDR platform. Attackers lose access; you retain control.

Isolation considerations:

• Active attacks require immediate isolation


• Preservation of evidence versus investigation access


• Business impact of isolation


• Duration planning and monitoring

Process termination kills malicious processes. Provides immediate relief but may trigger respawn from persistence mechanisms.

Account disable revokes credentials used in the compromise. Stops credential-based access but may not address other persistence.

Remote Remediation

File deletion removes malware and attacker tools.

Registry cleanup removes persistence entries.

Script execution enables custom cleanup scripts to run across affected endpoints.

Automated playbooks chain multiple actions—isolate, collect evidence, terminate processes, clean up, and restore connectivity.

Evidence Collection

Remote collection preserves evidence faster than physical response:

• Memory images


• Critical files and artifacts


• Event logs


• Browser history and cache


• Registry exports

Collect evidence before remediation. Cleanup actions may destroy artifacts needed for complete understanding.

Scaling Response

EDR enables response across many endpoints simultaneously. If investigation reveals multiple compromised systems, apply containment and remediation at scale rather than handling one at a time.

Create queries that identify all affected systems, then apply response actions across the entire scope.