Balancing Privacy and Performance in Network Detection & Response (NDR): Local vs. Cloud-Based Traffic Analysis

Network Detection and Response (NDR) tools are highly effective at identifying cyber threats hidden in network traffic, but deploying these tools requires a careful balance between strong threat detection capabilities and the need to protect data privacy. A key part in striking that balance is deciding where the traffic analysis takes place.

NDR solutions can either analyze traffic data on-premises or send that data to a cloud service for analysis. This choice affects privacy, performance, and compliance.

On-Premises Local Analysis

In this model, all data processing happens locally on a physical appliance or virtual machine within a company’s network. Since sensitive network data never leaves the premises, it’s easier to comply with privacy requirements or data sovereignty regulations. This setup also reduces the risk of data interception because the data isn’t transmitted over the internet.

In terms of performance, local analysis often means lower latency and faster detection responses since the monitoring sensor is physically close to the traffic source.

However, on-premises solutions can require more IT resources and maintenance. Organizations need to deploy and manage the hardware/software on site, make sure its updated, and provide enough storage and compute power to handle the network traffic. This may mean higher upfront costs or IT overhead compared to a fully managed cloud service.

Cloud-Based Analysis

In this model, network traffic data (or summaries of it) are sent over the internet to a vendor’s cloud platform for analysis. The advantage of this scenario is convenience and scalability. This means less hardware on-site and minimal maintenance as the cloud provider takes care of regular updates. Cloud-based NDR services can scale up to handle large amounts of data or sudden spikes in traffic by leveraging the provider’s resources. Additionally, cloud analysis makes it easier to consolidate data from multiple locations because the data is being sent to the same cloud platform.

However, privacy is a major consideration because sending internal traffic data to the cloud means entrusting sensitive information to a third-party. There’s a potential risk if the cloud is breached or if data is intercepted in transit. As well, compliance and data residency rules may prohibit certain data from being transferred to cloud servers in another region.

Latency and reliability as cloud analysis depends on an internet connection. If the connection is slow or goes down, real-time detection might lag or be unavailable. Uploading large volumes of traffic to the cloud can also put strain on the network that slows down other internet-dependent services or increases lag.

Many NDR solutions offer “hybrid approaches” where a local sensor does initial processing and only sends alerts or metadata to the cloud. However, metadata can reveal sensitive information about a company and could qualify as personal data under privacy laws if not anonymized.

CYBERSPAN®’s Privacy-First, High-Performance Approach

CYBERSPAN® is an NDR platform designed to deliver strong threat detection that protects data privacy, while remaining lightweight and efficient.

All of CYBERSPAN®’s analysis is performed locally on sensors within the organization’s environment. The sensor runs on a single server or virtual appliance attached to the network and processes the data on-premises. By keeping the analysis at the source, CYBERSPAN® maintains data confidentiality and avoids the compliance issues of sending traffic to third parties. It also means detection is immediate with minimal latency, since the analysis happens right at the network switch.

Even when CYBERSPAN® is deployed in the cloud, the traffic analysis still happens locally. The sensor runs within a company’s own cloud—such as a private AWS instance—and monitors only the traffic inside that environment. The traffic analysis occurs where the data resides, just as it would on a physical appliance in an on-premises network.

While many NDR tools rely on cloud platforms to centralize and process data across locations, each CYBERSPAN® sensor sends only high-level alerts and summaries to CYBERSPAN®’s management dashboard. This allows organizations to view and manage security events from multiple locations in a single, unified interface, without exposing sensitive traffic data.

CYBERSPAN® offers a practical solution for organizations seeking simplified cybersecurity tools. By analyzing traffic locally, CYBERSPAN® delivers strong network protection without sacrificing privacy or straining network resources.