Proactive threat detection and response for your organization.
Grade: B — Score: 70/100
Sophos MDR leverages advanced technology and machine learning to detect and respond to threats in real-time. With a team of security experts monitoring your environment, you can rest assured that potential threats are identified and mitigated swiftly.
The workflow of Sophos MDR integrates seamlessly with your existing security infrastructure, providing a comprehensive approach to threat detection and response. The service includes incident response, threat hunting, and continuous monitoring, ensuring that your organization is always one step ahead of cybercriminals.
Organizations face significant risks from cyber threats that can lead to data breaches and financial loss. Sophos MDR helps mitigate these risks by providing expert analysis and rapid response capabilities, allowing businesses to focus on their core operations while maintaining robust security.
MDR Essentials: Quote-based (est. $5-$10/asset/month or $60-$120/asset/year)
MDR Complete: Quote-based (est. $10-$20/asset/month or $120-$240/asset/year)
Third-Party Integration Packs (add-on): Quote-based (per pack, priced by user count)
Sophos Rapid Response (standalone): Quote-based (incident retainer or on-demand)
Consider switching to CrowdStrike Falcon: CrowdStrike offers a similar managed detection and response service with a strong focus on endpoint protection.
Arctic Wolf uses a Concierge Security Team model where a named advisor reviews alerts and provides remediation guidance, while Sophos MDR Complete offers Authorize mode where the Security Services Team takes direct containment actions on your behalf within a 60-minute SLA. Arctic Wolf MDR Basic starts at $44,000 per year for up to 100 users on AWS Marketplace with a Vendr-reported median deal of $96,340 per year, compared to an estimated $5-$20 per asset per month for Sophos MDR. The Breach Protection Warranty also differs: Sophos MDR Complete includes up to $1 million aggregate reimbursement while Arctic Wolf's warranty is tier-dependent and not published. Pick Arctic Wolf if you want a named advisor relationship, pick Sophos MDR if you need vendor-executed response within a contractual SLA.
Falcon Complete is built on CrowdStrike's market-leading EDR agent with a 4-minute average detection time and requires Falcon EDR to operate, while Sophos MDR runs on third-party EDR (Microsoft Defender, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne) via the XDR Sensor detection-only agent. Falcon Complete typically carries a 15-25% pricing premium over Sophos MDR for comparable deployments per Vendr transaction data. Both vendors provide a $1 million aggregate breach warranty on their top tier, though claim terms and caps differ. Choose Falcon Complete for enterprise SOC environments with established CrowdStrike investment, choose Sophos MDR for mid-market or mixed-vendor environments where EDR flexibility matters.
Yes. Sophos MDR ingests Microsoft Defender for Endpoint telemetry through the Microsoft Graph Security API as part of an integration pack license, so customers already invested in Defender P2 via Microsoft 365 E5 can layer Sophos MDR on top without replacing their EDR. MDR operators receive full telemetry visibility and can drive response actions through Defender's APIs based on your selected Threat Response Mode, or you can use the XDR Sensor lightweight agent as an alternative. Note that some Sophos-specific features like CryptoGuard ransomware rollback and Adaptive Attack Protection are Sophos Endpoint only and do not extend to Defender deployments.
MDR Essentials provides 24/7 threat monitoring, investigation, and response actions with a non-contractual 30-minute response target. MDR Complete adds a contractual 60-minute response SLA for 90% of high-severity cases, a dedicated Incident Response Lead for confirmed Incidents, full-scale Incident Response at no additional cost, and the $1 million Breach Protection Warranty that reimburses up to $1,000 per breached Managed Endpoint. Both tiers support the three Threat Response Modes and all 350+ third-party integrations. Most buyers should pick MDR Complete because the breach warranty alone is typically worth more than the tier price difference over a multi-year subscription.
The warranty reimburses documented out-of-pocket expenses up to $1,000 per breached Managed Endpoint (or per license, whichever is lower) with a $1,000,000 aggregate annual cap and a $100,000 per-claim limit for ransomware payments. Filing requires a minimum of $5,000 in documented remediation expenses and demonstrable irretrievable data loss, and claims are limited to one per customer regardless of subscription count. The warranty excludes breaches caused by third-party products, systemic failures, and situations where customer backups allow data recovery. Read the MDR Complete Warranty legal document carefully before assuming it is a substitute for cyber insurance, as the documented expense threshold and single-claim rule are more restrictive than typical policies.
Response depends on which Threat Response Mode you selected at onboarding per Section 1.2 of the Sophos MDR Service Description. In Authorize mode, MDR operators execute containment (host isolation, process kill, IP block at Sophos Firewall, account disable, file quarantine) independently and notify you afterward. In Collaborate mode, they investigate and recommend actions but require your consent before execution, except for lower-risk actions like remote query. In Notify Only mode they investigate and provide guidance but do not execute any containment, leaving all response actions to your team.
No, but you need either Sophos Endpoint (XDR edition) or the XDR Sensor agent installed on every Managed Endpoint covered by the service. The XDR Sensor is a detection-only agent that lets MDR operate alongside a third-party EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint) without replacing your existing endpoint protection. This means Sophos MDR is the uncommon MDR service that does not force a rip-and-replace of your current EDR. Note that the Health Check and some Account Health posture features are only available on endpoints running Sophos Endpoint, not XDR Sensor.
Upon termination, Sophos Central access is maintained for a 30-day grace period so you can export detection data, cases, and reports before it is deleted. After the grace period, MDR-specific data (open cases, weekly and monthly reports, detections) is permanently deleted and unrecoverable. Sophos retains a copy of detection history associated with previous cases on a separate AWS instance for 2 years, and the MDR Security Posture Report is also retained for 2 years for compliance and regulatory purposes. Underlying endpoint telemetry from Sophos Central follows the 90-day default retention policy unless you purchased the Central Data Storage 1-year pack for 365-day retention.
Yes. Sophos offers a dedicated MSP program with Sophos Central Partner for multi-tenant management of downstream customer environments (referred to as Beneficiaries in the Service Description). MSPs must obtain any required consents from Beneficiaries and advise them of service risks and impacts per Article III Section 1.1, and a separate MDR Complete MSP Warranty document governs the breach protection terms for partners. MSP pricing is available as monthly usage-based licensing rather than term licenses, which matches a managed-services billing cadence better than annual commitments.
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