Managed Detection and Response (MDR) in 20 Cyber Security Statistics

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is an emerging cyber security service that has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years. With the rise of sophisticated cyber threats and the increasing complexity of security landscapes, many organisations are turning to MDR as a comprehensive solution to their security needs.  

MDR services offer real-time threat detection, proactive threat hunting, incident response, and 24/7 monitoring, providing businesses with the assurance that their systems and data are protected from potential attacks. In this article we list 20 stats that will convince you to utilise MDR. 

The Statistics 

MDR Market 

• By 2025, 50% of organisations will be using MDR services for threat monitoring, detection and response functions - 1 
• Managed Detection and Response Market is expected to reach $2.2 billion by 2025 – 1 
• The growth rate of the MDR market is over 48% vs the rest of the security market at around 9% - 1 

Pain Points 

Skill shortage and budget constraints 

•  There is a global cyber security worker shortage of 3.1 million- MDR helps close the gap - 3 
• Worldwide, 80% of organisations suffered one or more breaches that they could attribute to a lack of cybersecurity skills and/or awareness – 4  
• 60% of organisations struggle to recruit cyber security talent - 4 

• 52% of organisations struggle to retain qualified people - 4 
• 67% of business leaders believe that the shortage of qualified cyber security candidates creates additional risks for their organisations – 4 
• 30% of executives state that inadequate security budgets are their biggest challenge, and 38% expect it to be within 2 years​- 2 
  

Alert Fatigue and Detection Efficacy 

• Nearly 70% of respondents said 25%-75% of the alerts they investigate on a daily basis are false positives- 5 
• MDR solutions have an average detection accuracy rate of 85%, compared to 60% for traditional security solutions - 1 
• 81% of surveyed information technology (IT) professionals say that more than 20% of their cloud security alerts are false positives – 6 

• More than 70% of SOC staff rate their “pain” level from a seven to ten on a scale of ten - 7 

The Benefits of MDR 

• Organisations using MDR had a 62% reduction in the average number of security incidents per year- 8 
• MDR users typically see a 50% reduction in the Meantime to detect (MTTD) and Mean time to respond (MTTR) - 6 
• The average response time for MDR services was around three hours, compared to an average of sixty-six hours for in-house security teams – 1 
• MDR users see up to 50% cost savings in Cyber security operations – 6 
• The average time to detect a security incident is 32 days for organisations with a SOC and no MDR, compared to just 10 days for those using MDR. – 8 
• The average amount of time that it takes for a company to detect a cyber security incident when they are not using a SOC or MDR, is up to 212 days - 8 
• In a study by the SANS Institute, 54% of respondents said that MDR was effective in detecting and containing cyber-attacks - 9 

Opting for outsourced MDR can provide excellent value for organisations of any size. Cyber criminals are highly motivated by financial gain, and  MDR can help regain control and establish a secure environment for both individuals and the entire organisation. 

Want to find out more about what priority risks our MDR service can help your organisation mitigate? Contact us  today.  

Sources 

1. Gartner
2. Thoughtlab research​
3. (ISC)2 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study
4. Fortinet 2022 Cybersecurity Skills Gap report
5. CriticalStart’s third-annual Security Operations Center (SOC) survey
6. Orca security 2022 Cloud Security Alert Fatigue report
7. Devo SOC Performance Report
8. Ponemon Institute
9. SANS Institute