✕
Client Portal
Contact Us
✕
✕
Client Portal
Contact Us
✕
Apogee & Toshiba volunteers clear an area for orchids at Holme Farm
Team Apogee lends a hand at Holme Farm!
3 July 2023
Staffordshire Uni Racing Car Apogee sponsor at Formula Student event
The Staffordshire University Racing team secures second place at Silverstone!
31 July 2023
Apogee & Toshiba volunteers clear an area for orchids at Holme Farm
Team Apogee lends a hand at Holme Farm!
3 July 2023
Staffordshire Uni Racing Car Apogee sponsor at Formula Student event
The Staffordshire University Racing team secures second place at Silverstone!
31 July 2023
a warning sign on an IT mainframe, indicating ransomware

Endpoint Detection and Response vs Antivirus: Why Endpoint Security Alone Is No Longer Enough

This guide explores how endpoint security has changed, why antivirus is no longer enough, and the essential differences between antivirus and EDR for modern cyber protection.

CONTACT US
 

Hybrid working is now firmly embedded into the modern workplace, offering employees greater flexibility while reshaping how businesses operate. Yet this shift raises an important question for IT leaders. How do you protect a hybrid workforce when devices, networks, and applications are no longer confined to a secure corporate environment?

While endpoint security has traditionally played a crucial role in safeguarding business devices, the cyber security landscape has evolved. Organisations must now consider more advanced approaches, including Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), to combat increasingly sophisticated threats.

 
Production Print magnifying glass over photos

Understanding Endpoint Security in a Hybrid Workforce

Endpoint security refers to the tools and processes used to secure devices such as laptops, mobiles, desktops, printers, servers, and IoT devices. Historically, these endpoints were kept on-site, making it easier for IT teams to manage access and apply consistent security controls.

Why Traditional Endpoint Protection Struggles Today

Since 2020, the shift to hybrid working has completely changed how endpoints are used. Devices are now routinely operated across a variety of uncontrolled environments, including homes, cafés, co-working spaces, and even public transport.

This creates significant challenges for IT teams, who must now:

  • Secure a growing number of devices across multiple locations
  • Track and protect personal and IoT devices that increasingly connect to business networks
  • Manage inconsistent security standards across a dispersed workforce
  • Respond to new risks such as outdated software, unsafe home Wi-Fi, and unmanaged permissions

Many of these devices still rely on basic antivirus or next generation antivirus solutions, which were never designed for today’s diverse and fast-moving threat landscape.

With 41 percent of security incidents involving phishing and employee devices increasingly serving as access points to wider networks, traditional endpoint tools are struggling to keep pace.

What Is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?

Endpoint Detection and Response, also known as EDR security, is an advanced endpoint protection technology designed to detect suspicious behaviour, analyse threats, and automatically respond to cyber attacks.

Unlike antivirus, which relies primarily on known malware signatures, EDR continuously monitors endpoint activity in real time. It identifies unusual behaviour, isolates compromised devices, and provides detailed insights into how the threat entered the system.

EDR brings together several proactive capabilities:

  • Continuous monitoring of endpoint behaviour
  • Real-time detection of known and unknown threats
  • Automated response actions to contain attacks
  • Threat hunting and analytics
  • Detailed incident reporting for root cause analysis

For hybrid workforces, EDR provides the visibility and control that traditional endpoint tools cannot offer.

Production Print magnifying glass over photos
Production Print magnifying glass over photos

What Is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)?

Endpoint Detection and Response, also known as EDR security, is an advanced endpoint protection technology designed to detect suspicious behaviour, analyse threats, and automatically respond to cyber attacks.

Unlike antivirus, which relies primarily on known malware signatures, EDR continuously monitors endpoint activity in real time. It identifies unusual behaviour, isolates compromised devices, and provides detailed insights into how the threat entered the system.

EDR brings together several proactive capabilities:

  • Continuous monitoring of endpoint behaviour
  • Real-time detection of known and unknown threats
  • Automated response actions to contain attacks
  • Threat hunting and analytics
  • Detailed incident reporting for root cause analysis

For hybrid workforces, EDR provides the visibility and control that traditional endpoint tools cannot offer.

 

Antivirus vs EDR: What Are the Endpoint Protection Differences?

As cyber threats evolve, organisations are increasingly comparing antivirus vs EDR to determine which solution offers the most robust protection. Understanding endpoint protection differences is essential for developing a modern cyber security strategy.

How Antivirus Works

Antivirus tools follow a signature-based detection model. They scan files and applications against a library of known threats and block anything that matches.

Advantages:

  • Effective against common, well-known malware
  • Lightweight and easy to deploy
  • Suitable as a baseline security layer

Limitations:

  • Cannot detect new or unknown threats
  • Requires frequent updates across all devices
  • Offers limited insight into how attacks occur
  • Reactive rather than proactive
  • Easily bypassed by sophisticated phishing or PDF-based attacks

These limitations have become more pronounced as attackers frequently embed malicious content within documents that appear legitimate.

How Endpoint Detection and Response Works

Endpoint Detection and Response uses behavioural detection rather than signatures. It analyses patterns across all endpoints, identifying threats based on unusual activity, such as unexpected file changes or unauthorised access attempts.

Key capabilities include:

  • Behavioural detection of emerging threats
  • Real-time monitoring across all devices
  • Automatic isolation of compromised endpoints
  • Alerts and analytics for IT teams
  • Contextual insights that support rapid investigation

This proactive approach makes EDR far more effective in hybrid environments where devices cannot be centrally controlled.

Category

Antivirus

Endpoint Detection and Response

Detection method

Signature-based

Behaviour-based

Visibility

Limited

High, real-time analytics

Response actions

Block known threats

Isolate devices, investigate activity

Unknown threat detection

Low

High

Suitability for hybrid work

Limited

Very strong

Endpoint protection differences

Reactive and static

Proactive, adaptive, and automated

 

Which Is Better for Hybrid Workers?

While antivirus provides basic protection, hybrid workforces face complex threats that require more advanced protection. EDR offers the visibility, automation, and real-time response capabilities needed to defend against ransomware, credential theft, phishing, and other high-risk cyber attacks.

Organisations increasingly combine both antivirus and EDR in a multi-layered security approach.

 

How Advanced Endpoint Protection Strengthens Hybrid Security

Although antivirus remains a useful foundation, it is no longer sufficient on its own. To secure hybrid workers, organisations need deeper control over applications and user behaviour.

Isolation technology provides an additional layer by opening applications such as Outlook, PDF viewers, and browsers within isolated environments. This prevents malware from interacting with the device’s operating system or spreading to the corporate network.

By treating all content as untrusted until verified, isolation technology:

  • Protects against never-before-seen threats
  • Reduces reliance on employee judgement
  • Prevents lateral movement across endpoints
  • Complements EDR and antivirus to create layered defence

Even with advanced endpoint protection, organisations must still manage device policies carefully, enforce least-privilege access, and ensure only approved devices can reach corporate data.

Production Print magnifying glass over photos
 

Building a Proactive Cyber Security Culture

Technology alone cannot stop every attack. A secure hybrid workforce depends on a culture of continuous vigilance.

Businesses can:

  • Update policies and governance to reflect hybrid working
  • Incorporate risk management processes such as penetration testing
  • Deliver regular cyber security awareness training
  • Provide visually engaging education, including demonstrations from ethical hackers
  • Conduct cyber-health checks or gap assessments to identify vulnerabilities

A managed service provider can support these steps by designing, implementing, and maintaining a tailored cyber security strategy that evolves alongside the threat landscape.

At Apogee, we work closely with organisations to strengthen their security posture across hybrid environments. Our team assesses your current infrastructure, identifies vulnerabilities, and designs multi-layered security solutions that combine the best of endpoint protection, EDR security, and isolation technology.

Whether you are updating your existing systems or preparing for future growth, we can help your organisation implement a proactive, resilient cyber security framework.

For more information, contact us using the form below.

How We Can Help

To learn more, please fill out the contact form: 

Latest insights

View More Insights
12 June 2025
uk prime minister sir keir starmer
12 June 2025
Categories

Prime Minister says technology will ‘create a better future’ – and he’s right

At London Tech Week 2025, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke about the role that AI will play in creating a better future for the UK’s public services, particularly the NHS.
Do you like it?
Read more - Prime Minister says technology will ‘create a better future’ – and he’s right
19 May 2025
woman-working-from-home-remotely-hp-laptop
19 May 2025
Categories

Four Ways to make Remote Working Easier, Smoother, and More Productive

While the astronomical rise in remote working was necessary for companies to remain operational during the pandemic, many CEOs have found that a permanent move to hybrid work has led to many benefits – most prominently, improved employee wellbeing and productivity.
Do you like it?
Read more - Four Ways to make Remote Working Easier, Smoother, and More Productive

Keep up to date with all the latest in Managed Print Services.

By submitting this form, you acknowledge that you have read and understand the Apogee Privacy Statement.
Data Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy

• WHO WE ARE

Header 2 text

Paragraph Big Text Subheader or paragraph hook.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed utrum hortandus es nobis, Luci, inquit, an etiam tua sponte propensus es? Eaedem enim utilitates poterunt eas labefactare atque pervertere. Quo plebiscito decreta a senatu est consuli quaestio Cn. Peccata paria. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Quam nemo umquam voluptatem appellavit, appellat; Traditur, inquit, ab Epicuro ratio neglegendi doloris. Eadem nunc mea adversum te oratio est. Quod non faceret, si in voluptate summum bonum poneret. Si enim ad populum me vocas, eum.

Erit enim instructus ad mortem contemnendam, ad exilium, ad ipsum etiam dolorem. Tum Torquatus: Prorsus, inquit, assentior; Ille enim occurrentia nescio quae comminiscebatur; Qua ex cognitione facilior facta est investigatio rerum occultissimarum. Nam quibus rebus efficiuntur voluptates, eae non sunt in potestate sapientis. 

Click here to button
Production Print magnifying glass over photos