Learn how to detect and stop identity-based attacks before attackers move laterally through your network.
• ITDR tools detect identity-based attacks like kerberoasting and privilege escalation that traditional endpoint security misses
• Most ITDR platforms focus on runtime detection, but credentials are often stolen weeks earlier via infostealer malware
• The best ITDR solution depends on your environment: Microsoft shops need Defender for Identity while hybrid environments benefit from agentless options like Silverfort
• Complete identity protection requires both ITDR for runtime detection and dark web monitoring to catch stolen credentials before they’re used
91% of organizations experienced an identity-related security incident in the past year. That’s nearly double the rate from the previous year, according to the SpyCloud 2025 Identity Threat Report. Attackers aren’t breaking in anymore. They’re logging in with stolen credentials.
Traditional security tools watch endpoints and networks. But identity has become the primary attack vector. When attackers use valid credentials, they look like legitimate users. Your firewall won’t stop them. Your antivirus won’t flag them.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) tools fill this gap. They monitor authentication patterns and detect credential abuse in real-time.
This guide compares the top ITDR solutions and explains what identity security features actually matter for your security team.
Identity-based attacks bypass traditional security controls. Here’s why identity security through ITDR has become essential.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) is a security framework focused on detecting and responding to attacks targeting user identities. ITDR tools monitor authentication systems and detect credential abuse in real-time. They automate responses to identity-based attacks like kerberoasting and privilege escalation.
Your firewall watches network traffic. Your EDR monitors endpoints for malware. But when an attacker logs in with valid credentials, both tools see normal activity.
According to the Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, stolen credentials remain the top initial access vector. The Sophos Active Adversary Report found that 56% of incidents involved attackers using valid accounts via external remote services.
ITDR tools solve this by monitoring the identity layer specifically. They detect:
Here’s what most ITDR guides miss: credential theft happens outside your network, before ITDR can see it.
Infostealer malware like LummaC2 steals credentials from infected devices. These credentials appear on dark web marketplaces within hours. Attackers exploit them quickly, sometimes within 48 hours of theft.
The SpyCloud 2025 Identity Threat Report found that only 54% of organizations reset passwords after malware infections. That means almost half leave stolen credentials active and usable.
ITDR detects the attack when it happens. Dark web monitoring catches the exposed credentials before attackers use them. Reset the password first and there’s no attack to detect.
Security teams often confuse these detection technologies. Each monitors a different layer of your environment.
| Technology | Primary Focus | What It Detects |
|---|---|---|
| EDR | Endpoints | Malware, exploits, suspicious processes |
| NDR | Network | Lateral movement, data exfiltration, C2 traffic |
| XDR | Multiple sources | Correlated threats across endpoints, network, cloud |
| ITDR | Identities | Credential abuse, AD attacks, authentication anomalies |
EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) catches malware and exploits on individual devices. When ransomware encrypts files, EDR detects it. But when attackers log in with valid credentials and mimic normal admin activity, EDR has less to flag.
NDR (Network Detection and Response) monitors network traffic for suspicious patterns. It catches lateral movement and data exfiltration. But encrypted traffic and cloud applications limit what you can see.
XDR (Extended Detection and Response) correlates signals across multiple sources. It gives you unified coverage but depends on the quality of underlying data sources.
ITDR focuses specifically on identity threats. It catches attacks that look legitimate to other tools because they use valid credentials.
The SpyCloud report noted that 66% of malware infections occur on devices with endpoint security installed. Attackers know how to evade endpoint detection. ITDR provides a detection layer they can’t easily bypass.
Not all ITDR solutions offer the same identity security capabilities. Prioritize features based on your environment and threat model.
Active Directory Threat Detection monitors your AD environment for attacks targeting domain controllers and service accounts. This includes detecting kerberoasting attempts and DCSync attacks.
Identity Posture Management: Continuous assessment of identity security hygiene. This includes detecting stale accounts and excessive privileges that attackers exploit.
Behavioral Analytics: Baseline normal user behavior and detect anomalies. This catches compromised accounts even when attackers use valid credentials.
Active Directory Protection: Monitor for AD-specific attacks like credential theft and privilege escalation. Most enterprise environments still depend on AD, making Active Directory protection a critical requirement.
Cloud Identity Monitoring: Coverage for Azure AD and Okta. Cloud-first organizations need ITDR that extends beyond on-premises AD.
Automated Response: Playbooks that automatically disable compromised accounts or force password resets. Speed matters when credentials are compromised.
Session Token Protection: Attackers increasingly steal session cookies instead of passwords. This bypasses MFA entirely. Look for ITDR tools that detect session hijacking.
Integration Depth: How well does the ITDR tool integrate with your SIEM and SOAR platforms? Isolated alerts create more work for analysts.
Dark Web Credential Monitoring: Most ITDR tools detect credential use, not credential theft. Compromised credential monitoring catches exposures before attackers use them.
Each ITDR solution has different strengths. Your best choice depends on your existing security stack and identity security requirements.
Overview: Leader in converged endpoint and identity protection
CrowdStrike extended their endpoint platform to include identity threat detection. Falcon Identity Protection monitors Active Directory in real-time and correlates identity threats with endpoint telemetry.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Best value if you’re already a CrowdStrike customer. Standalone identity protection is expensive compared to specialized options.
Best For: Organizations with existing CrowdStrike deployments
Overview: Native identity protection for Microsoft environments
Defender for Identity monitors on-premises Active Directory while Entra ID Protection covers cloud identities. Deep integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure gives you unified coverage.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Limited coverage outside Microsoft ecosystem. Cloud-only organizations may find Entra ID Protection sufficient.
Best For: Microsoft-heavy environments with E5 licensing
Overview: AI-driven identity protection with deception technology
SentinelOne combines behavioral analytics with honeypots and decoy credentials. Their AI models detect identity attacks that rule-based systems miss.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Deception features require configuration to avoid false positives. Most effective alongside SentinelOne endpoint protection.
Best For: Organizations prioritizing AI-driven detection
Overview: Newest entrant with integrated dark web monitoring
Launched in October 2025, Sophos ITDR is built on the Secureworks Taegis platform. It’s one of the few ITDR tools that includes dark web monitoring for compromised credentials.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Newest platform with less market validation. Best suited for existing Sophos customers.
Best For: Organizations wanting dark web monitoring built into ITDR
Overview: Cloud-native identity security from the IAM leader
Okta extended their identity platform to include threat detection. Identity Threat Protection monitors authentication patterns and detects account compromise in real-time.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Focused on cloud identities. Organizations with significant on-premises AD need additional coverage.
Best For: Cloud-first organizations using Okta for IAM
Overview: Agentless identity protection for hybrid environments
Silverfort monitors authentication without deploying agents on endpoints or modifying AD. They extend MFA to resources that don’t natively support it, including legacy systems.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Proxy-based architecture adds latency to authentication. Complex environments may require careful planning.
Best For: Hybrid environments with legacy systems
Overview: Active Directory security and disaster recovery specialist
Semperis focuses specifically on Active Directory protection and recovery. Their Directory Services Protector provides comprehensive Active Directory protection while Purple Knight assesses AD security posture.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Narrower focus than full ITDR platforms. Best as AD-specific complement to broader security tools.
Best For: Organizations with critical AD-centric environments
Overview: Privileged access management meets identity threat detection
CyberArk combined their PAM expertise with identity analytics. The platform monitors privileged accounts and detects credential theft targeting high-value identities with strong identity security controls.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Enterprise-focused with complex deployment. Most effective alongside existing CyberArk PAM.
Best For: Organizations prioritizing privileged access security
Overview: Privileged access management with identity analytics
BeyondTrust offers PAM with built-in identity threat detection. Their platform monitors privileged sessions and detects anomalous behavior from administrative accounts.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Focused on privileged users rather than all identities. General user monitoring may require additional tools.
Best For: Zero trust privileged access initiatives
Overview: Fully managed identity protection for SMBs
Huntress provides managed ITDR services specifically for small and mid-sized businesses. Their SOC team monitors identity threats and handles response on your behalf.
Key Strengths:
Considerations: Less customization than self-managed platforms. Organizations with mature SOCs may prefer direct control.
Best For: SMBs without dedicated security operations
ITDR tools detect attacks when they happen. But attackers often have your credentials long before they use them.
Infostealer malware like LummaC2 and RedLine enables credential theft at massive scale. According to SpyCloud, LummaC2 alone had 23.3 million detections in 2025. These stealers capture browser passwords and session tokens.
Stolen credentials flow to dark web marketplaces within hours. Secureworks observed a 688% increase in stolen credentials for sale on a single dark web marketplace over the past three years.
Your ITDR tool won’t alert you when credentials are stolen. It alerts when they’re used. That gap can be weeks or months.
True identity security requires monitoring the full credential lifecycle:
Most organizations have ITDR but skip exposure detection. That leaves a dangerous gap.
Deploying ITDR without proper planning creates alert fatigue. Real attacks get buried in noise.
Before detecting attacks, fix the vulnerabilities attackers exploit. Most ITDR platforms include posture assessment features. Use them to identify:
Active Directory remains the primary target for identity attacks. Even organizations moving to cloud identity still have AD dependencies. Ensure your ITDR tool gives you deep AD coverage.
ITDR generates alerts. Your team needs documented procedures for each alert type. Define:
ITDR catches attacks. Dark web monitoring catches exposures. Both matter for complete identity protection. Use tools like Breachsense to monitor for leaked credentials and combo lists targeting your organization.
Identity has become the primary attack vector. ITDR tools detect when attackers abuse credentials, but they can’t detect credential theft when it happens.
The best ITDR solution depends on your environment. Microsoft shops should start with Defender for Identity. Organizations with existing CrowdStrike or SentinelOne deployments should use their identity modules. SMBs without dedicated security teams should consider managed services like Huntress.
For complete identity security, pair your ITDR solution with dark web credential monitoring. Catching credential theft before attackers use stolen credentials prevents incidents that ITDR would only detect after the fact.
Ready to find out if your credentials are already exposed? Use our dark web scanner to check your organization’s exposure. Then evaluate ITDR tools based on what you discover.
IAM (Identity and Access Management) controls who can access what. It handles provisioning and authentication. ITDR monitors for threats targeting those identities. Think of IAM as the lock on your door and ITDR as the alarm system. You need both, but they solve different problems.
No. While enterprise solutions dominate the market, managed ITDR services make identity threat detection accessible to mid-market organizations. Huntress offers managed ITDR specifically for SMBs. Cloud-native options from Okta and Microsoft also lower the barrier to entry.
Enterprise ITDR solutions typically range from $3-15 per user per month depending on features and deployment model. Managed ITDR services may charge differently. Cloud-native options like Microsoft Defender for Identity are often included in E5 licensing. Always factor in implementation and training costs as well.
Most ITDR tools don’t monitor the dark web directly. They detect when stolen credentials are used, not when they’re first leaked. Some newer platforms like Sophos ITDR include dark web monitoring. For comprehensive coverage, you’ll want dedicated dark web credential monitoring alongside your ITDR solution.
Cloud-native ITDR solutions can be deployed in days. On-premises solutions with Active Directory integration typically require 2-4 weeks for full deployment and tuning. Agentless solutions like Silverfort deploy faster than agent-based alternatives. Plan for additional time to build response playbooks.
No. ITDR complements EDR rather than replacing it. EDR monitors endpoints for malware and exploits. ITDR monitors identities for credential abuse and authentication attacks. When an attacker uses stolen credentials, EDR sees normal user behavior. ITDR catches the anomalies in authentication patterns.
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