EDR, demystified! Stay a step ahead of attackers with this comprehensive guide to understanding the attack-detection software running on Microsoft systems—and how to evade it.

Nearly every enterprise uses an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agent to monitor the devices on their network for signs of an attack. But that doesn't mean security defenders grasp how these systems actually work. This book demystifies EDR, taking you on a deep dive into how EDRs detect adversary activity. Chapter by chapter, you’ll learn that EDR is not a magical black box—it’s just a complex software application built around a few easy-to-understand components.

The author uses his years of experience as a red team operator to investigate each of the most common sensor components, discussing their purpose, explaining their implementation, and showing the ways they collect various data points from the Microsoft operating system. In addition to covering the theory behind designing an effective EDR, each chapter also reveals documented evasion strategies for bypassing EDRs that red teamers can use in their engagements.

Contents

1. EDR-Chitecture

2. Function-Hooking DLLs

3. Process- and Thread -Creation Notifications

4. Object Notifications

5. Image-Load and Registry Notifications

6. Filesystem Minifilter Drivers

7. Network Filter Drivers

8. Event Tracing for Windows

9. Scanners

10. Antimalware Scan Interface

11. Early Launch Antimalware Drivers

12. Microsoft-Windows-Threat-Intelligence

13. Case Study: A Detection-Aware Attack

Review

"A great book for red and blue [people]! It is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about how EDRs work and Windows internals with a security perspective."

—Olaf Hartong, @olafhartong, researcher at FalconForce

"If you spend any time around EDR's, or are just interested in how they work... this book is an invaluable addition to your collection."

—Adam Chester, @_xpn_, RedTeamer at TrustedSec

About the Author

Matt Hand is an experienced red team operator with over a decade of experience. His primary areas of focus are in vulnerability research and EDR evasion where he spends a large amount of time conducting independent research, developing tooling, and publishing content. Matt is currently a Service Architect at SpecterOps where he focuses on improving the technical and execution capabilities of the Adversary Simulation team, as well as serving as a subject matter expert on evasion tradecraft.