Some of the UK's best-known companies have faced cyber attacks this year.

A new wave of cyber-attacks driven by phishing, stolen credentials and ransomware is affecting the UK. It's not just tech giants that are at risk.

Marks & Spencer suffered a data breach after attackers posed as IT help desk staff and tricked employees into giving up their login details and multi-factor authentication codes. This allowed criminals direct access to internal systems and sensitive data. The Co-operative Group narrowly avoided a severe ransomware crisis when its IT team disconnected systems just in time to prevent full encryption. West Lothian Council confirmed a ransomware attack that stole data from staff and pupils, leading to complex recovery efforts, police investigations and damage to its reputation.

These incidents are not unique. Harrods, Jaguar Land Rover, Glasgow City Council, Heathrow Airport and Adidas have all encountered significant cyber issues in the past year.

The pattern is clear: attackers are faster and better funded. They increasingly use social engineering and ransomware-as-a-service. They exploit basic weaknesses such as weak passwords, slow patching and poor network segmentation and they use automation to launch attacks quickly. Traditional firewalls and antivirus software alone are no longer enough.

The goal for organisations of all sizes is to stop as many attacks as possible. Modern security involves preventing attacks when you can and responding swiftly if something gets through your first line of defense.

This is why many leadership teams are rethinking their security operations. Two models are prevalent: Managed Detection & Response (MDR) and the Security Operations Centre (SOC). Both offer 24/7 protection, but they do so in very different ways. Understanding these differences is crucial for choosing the right defense strategy for your business.

What is Managed Detection & Response (MDR)?

Think of Managed Detection & Response (MDR) as bringing in an expert emergency service. A specialist provider monitors your systems 24/7, hunts for unusual activity, validates alerts and acts quickly when needed.

They integrate with your environment and use advanced tools such as endpoint detection and response (EDR/XDR), behavioural analytics and machine learning to detect issues early on.

Human analysts investigate and act quickly, often isolating devices, blocking traffic or guiding your IT team through clean-up.

It’s usually quick to get going and works well if you don’t have a big in-house security team but still need strong protection.

What is a Security Operations Centre (SOC)?

A Security Operations Centre (SOC) is like setting up your own fire brigade and control room. It is a function that can be run in-house, outsourced, or as a combination of both and it manages your organisation’s day-to-day security operations.

A SOC team collects and analyses logs, monitors your network, cloud and endpoints 24/7, triages alerts and coordinates incident response. They also handle vulnerability scanning, compliance reporting and long-term security planning.

While you have full control and can customise it deeply, you will need the right people, processes and tools to make it work well.

Key differences: Quick Comparison

A side-by-side look at Managed Detection & Response (MDR) versus a Security Operations Centre (SOC).

Practical Considerations Before You Choose

MDR

A good Managed Detection & Response (MDR) provider will:

• Integrate with your existing identity systems, cloud services and EDR/XDR tools (endpoint detection and response / extended detection and response) to give full visibility across users, devices and cloud platforms.
• Agree clear playbooks (predefined response plans) for common threats such as ransomware, account takeover or supply-chain compromise, so action is immediate and consistent, even at 2 a.m.
• Provide round-the-clock experts who can isolate compromised devices or block malicious accounts the moment an incident is detected.
  

SOC

If you’re considering building an in-house or co-managed Security Operations Centre (SOC), you’ll need:

• Skilled analysts to create and fine-tune detection rules as threats evolve.
• Automation (SOAR: Security Orchestration, Automation and Response) to cut down manual alert triage and speed up reaction time.
  

• Reporting that shows the business impact of security work, including:

• Dwell time: how long attackers stay undetected inside your systems.

• Mean Time to Detect (MTTD): the average time it takes to spot a threat.

• Mean Time to Respond (MTTR): how quickly your team contains and resolves an incident.

• Compliance status against frameworks such as Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR or ISO 27001.

How MDR and SOC fit together

Although MDR and SOC are often compared, the two are closely connected. Most MDR services are delivered through the provider’s own Security Operations Centre (SOC). The key difference is that MDR provides access to 24/7 expertise and advanced tools without the need to set up and manage an SOC yourself.

Cost and Value

MDR offers predictable subscription pricing and a fast path to 24/7 expert cover, ideal if you need enterprise-grade detection and response quickly.

A SOC requires bigger upfront investment in people, tools and processes, but gives long-term control and deep customisation.

Many organisations start with MDR, then grow into a co-managed SOC as they scale and mature.

In Summary

Breaches at Marks & Spencer, Harrods, Jaguar Land Rover, Heathrow Airport and others show that no brand is too big to target. If your organisation isn’t sure it could spot and stop an attack fast, it’s time to think seriously about your operating model.

• MDR gives you instant 24/7 eyes and hands on deck.
• A SOC builds a long-term, deeply integrated security function.
• A hybrid model gives you the best of both: speed when an incident hits and control when you need compliance and strategy.

Need help deciding?

If you’re weighing up MDR vs SOC and want a clear, practical plan, including how to balance cost, speed and control, our team can help.

We work with leading partners to deliver fast-start Managed Detection & Response (MDR) and 24/7 threat monitoring, aligned with Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR and UK regulatory needs.

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