That shift is why security programs must evolve with the threat landscape.
Over the past year, we have seen a clear pattern across regulated industries. Breaches are no longer driven by noisy malware alone. Most incidents now begin with compromised credentials, abused cloud access, or legitimate tools used in unintended ways. In many cases, organizations do not realize what happened until well after attackers have moved laterally or accessed sensitive data.
To address this reality, security needs to extend beyond periodic testing and into continuous visibility and response.
Why Endpoints and Identities Matter More Than Ever
Cyber attackers are no longer focused only on breaking into networks. They target the two things that exist everywhere in your environment: devices and user identities.
Endpoints such as laptops, servers, and mobile devices are where users work and where attackers often gain their initial foothold. Identities are how attackers move, escalate privileges, and blend in with legitimate activity once access is gained.
When security teams rely only on alerts from firewalls or annual assessments, they miss the early indicators that matter most.
This is where Endpoint Detection and Response and Identity Threat Detection and Response work together.
What EDR Brings to the Table
Endpoint Detection and Response continuously monitors the behavior of devices across your environment. Instead of looking only for known malware, EDR analyzes activity patterns to detect suspicious behavior in real time.
This allows teams to:
- Identify attacks early before they spread
- Investigate suspicious activity with context
- Isolate affected devices to limit impact
- Respond faster than human-only processes allow
EDR helps close the gap between human reaction time and machine-speed attacks, which is critical as adversaries automate more of their operations.
Why ITDR Is Equally Critical
While EDR focuses on devices, Identity Threat Detection and Response focuses on user accounts and identity systems such as Active Directory and cloud identity platforms.
Many modern breaches involve valid credentials. Attackers log in, not break in. They exploit weak authentication, token misuse, or privileged access to move quietly through an environment.
ITDR helps organizations:
- Detect unusual login behavior and privilege escalation
- Identify compromised or abused accounts
- Prevent lateral movement using identity controls
- Protect cloud and SaaS environments where traditional tools have limited visibility
In practice, ITDR often surfaces the real scope of an incident that endpoint tools alone cannot see.
Why You Need Both, Not One or the Other
Endpoints and identities are deeply connected. An attacker may start on a device, then pivot through identity systems, or compromise an identity first and use it to deploy tools across endpoints.
Using EDR or ITDR in isolation leaves blind spots.
Together, they provide a clearer picture of what is happening, faster response, and a meaningful reduction in risk. This layered visibility is what allows organizations to move from reactive security to controlled, defensible security operations.
How This Fits Into a Modern Security Strategy
At TorchLight, we look at security as an operational system, not a collection of tools. In 2025, we expanded our services to help clients stay ahead of evolving threats, not just react to them.
Alongside penetration testing and vCISO advisory services, we added:
- Identity Threat Detection and Response to address identity-based attacks
- Endpoint Detection and Response for continuous device-level visibility
- Enhanced security awareness training powered by Drip7 to reduce human risk and improve compliance
These services are designed to work together, reduce operational friction, and support the broader goal of predictable risk management and executive peace of mind.
Security should reduce surprises, not create them.
Looking Ahead
As attackers continue to automate and blend in with normal business activity, organizations need security programs that evolve at the same pace. Continuous detection, clear accountability, and practical response matter more than ever.
If you want to understand how your current endpoint and identity defenses measure up, or how these capabilities fit into a broader security strategy, we invite you to learn more about our expanded services.
Learn more about our expanded security services by booking a call