Horizon3.ai, a global leader in offensive cybersecurity, has unveiled its new Endpoint Security Effectiveness (ESE) capability within the NodeZero Offensive Security Platform. The feature provides security teams with clear, evidence-based insights into how well their Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions detect and prevent real-world attack techniques.

Traditional EDR metrics—such as verifying agent installation or checking for signature updates—offer only a superficial understanding of protection. They often create a false sense of security, as they do not indicate whether attackers could bypass defenses. Horizon3.ai’s analysis of over 7,000 simulated remote access tool (RAT) deployments in customer environments revealed that NodeZero frequently circumvented EDRs using stolen credentials rather than software vulnerabilities. Only 3% of bypasses were due to exploitable flaws. Once inside, NodeZero executed critical actions—like data collection and user impersonation—rapidly, with a median completion time of three minutes and Linux-based intrusions occurring in as little as 20 seconds.

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These results underline a key challenge: many EDRs rely heavily on static signatures that are easily evaded through minor code modifications, while behavioral detection mechanisms are often inconsistent. Credential-driven attacks—the same strategies employed by real attackers—can thus frequently avoid detection.

The ESE healthcheck turns every NodeZero penetration test into a controlled, safe evaluation of EDR effectiveness in live environments without interrupting operations. NodeZero deploys a test RAT, mimics attacker behavior, and reports whether the EDR blocked, alerted, or failed to detect the activity. This allows security teams to pinpoint blind spots, refine configurations, and track improvements over time.

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“Our studies show that credential-based attacks can bypass EDRs in minutes, often without triggering alerts,” said Snehal Antani, CEO and Co-founder of Horizon3.ai. “The ESE healthcheck provides teams with tangible proof of where defenses are strong and where they need reinforcement, enabling them to enhance EDR performance and maximize the value of their investment.”

Key benefits of the ESE healthcheck include:

  • Evaluating EDR responses to real-world attack techniques, including credential-based intrusions.
  • Enhancing detection capabilities by identifying missed activities and optimizing policies, logging, and integrations.
  • Verifying improvements by rerunning NodeZero tests to ensure rapid attacks are mitigated.
  • This launch reflects Horizon3.ai’s commitment to transforming cybersecurity from assumption-based to evidence-driven, from static protection to continuous validation, and from reactive defense to proactive resilience.

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