XDR for ransomware: lessons from Estonia’s cinemasContext and why it matters for entertainment and retail in the Baltics and EU
In June 2025, the Estonian cinema chain Cinamon reportedly suffered a ransomware attack that encrypted its website and ticketing systems. The company chose not to pay the ransom, continued to operate, and sold tickets on-site at discounted prices while systems were rebuilt. Schedules were communicated through social media and a temporary information page. This was a pragmatic and principled response that prioritised customers and long-term resilience.
This incident is a reminder that ransomware does not only target global giants. Multi-site operators in entertainment and retail face the same attack paths as banks, only with thinner margins and smaller teams. Internet-facing booking and payment systems, third-party integrations, busy seasonal peaks and a dispersed footprint create a wide attack surface. In Estonia and across the Baltics, technology adoption is high, which is positive for growth yet can magnify operational risk when one system is taken offline.
Business leaders care about continuity, not acronyms. What matters is how quickly you can detect, contain and recover without losing the weekend box office or peak retail trading. XDR, extended detection and response, is not a silver bullet, but it is the most effective way to shrink the blast radius of ransomware by correlating signals across your estate and orchestrating response in minutes rather than hours.
Core topic explained without fluff
What it is and what it is not
XDR, extended detection and response, is a security capability that ingests telemetry from endpoints, servers, cloud workloads and networks into a single analytics plane. It applies detection logic to find malicious techniques, then triggers automated or guided response actions such as isolating a device, suspending a user, blocking an email campaign or killing a process.
XDR is not a brand-new idea. It evolves endpoint detection and response by expanding scope beyond the laptop or server. Where EDR focuses on endpoint telemetry, XDR adds network and communication layers where modern ransomware gains initial access and moves laterally. XDR is also not merely managed detection. MDR, managed detection and response, is a service layer staffed by analysts. Many organisations successfully combine an XDR platform with MDR to achieve 24×7 eyes on glass without scaling an in-house security operations centre.
For executives, the takeaway is simple. XDR gives you broader visibility and faster, more consistent actions when it matters most.
Typical weak points or failure modes
- No integration with user activity, so compromised accounts are missed until data is exfiltrated.
- EDR alerts without orchestration, so analysts see the problem but cannot contain it quickly.
- Email and collaboration tools monitored separately, so social engineering and payload delivery slip through.
- Backup and recovery plans untested, so restoration takes days even after containment.
- Over-reliance on a single vendor agent, creating blind spots for cloud and third-party systems.
- Lack of defined playbooks, so people hesitate and downtime extends.
Quick checklist: are you XDR-ready?
| Area | What good looks like | Common gap |
|---|---|---|
| Telemetry coverage | Endpoints, servers, network logs feed one platform | Endpoints only, network visibility absent |
| Response actions | Pre-approved playbooks for isolation, account suspend, mail rule purge | Manual steps, slow approvals |
| Data retention | 6 to 12 months of searchable data for threat hunting and forensics | 30 to 60 days, hard to query |
| Third parties | Key SaaS, payment and ticketing integrated | Critical apps not connected |
| Recovery | Backups, restore exercises, RTO defined by business | No timed drills, unclear RTO |
Practical playbook
Step-by-step actions
Start with outcomes. Your aim is to reduce time to detect, contain and recover. Map what a ransomware day looks like for your business and measure the cost per hour of downtime. Then take these steps.
- Baseline and prioritise. Inventory your ticketing, point-of-sale, payment and scheduling systems. Identify business-critical user journeys such as online booking and on-site sales. Capture dependencies like payment gateways and messaging platforms.
- Harden the basics. Apply multi-factor authentication for all admin roles, segment networks between front-of-house and back-office, and enforce rapid patching for internet-facing systems. These controls reduce noise and improve XDR signal quality.
- Select the right XDR. Choose an XDR that natively integrates with your endpoints and servers, and ingests logs from cloud and network sensors. Prioritise correlation quality and response automation over checkbox features. Our Security Technology Selection and Implementation service provides a structured path from requirements to pilot and rollout.
- Design playbooks for ransomware. Define what the platform should do automatically when ransom-like behaviour is detected. Typical actions include isolating suspicious devices, suspending risky accounts, revoking tokens, blocking command-and-control domains and purging malicious mail rules. Pre-approve these actions with the business so containment is not slowed by governance.
- Integrate with backups and recovery. Ensure your backup platform is monitored by XDR and that restore runbooks are exercised quarterly. Test restoring a representative slice of your ticketing and e-commerce data to a clean environment and measure your recovery time objective.
- Test like an attacker. Run a ransomware-focused Penetration Testing engagement to validate pathways and tune detections. Complement this with a targeted Security Assessment to identify control gaps and prioritise remediation.
- Operate and improve. Establish a daily and weekly operating rhythm. Review detections, tune rules, and run short drills. Share concise executive reports that tie risk reduction to uptime and revenue protected.
Quick wins include enabling protection features and high-confidence automated isolations for known bad behaviour. Longer-term moves include full playbook automation and extending coverage to third-party SaaS that handle bookings and payments.
Tooling and process integration
An effective XDR needs endpoint and server sensors along with other device log collection. These data sources are combined into a single analytics layer for faster detection and response. Response should be driven by playbooks that are simple to understand and easy to audit. Connect the platform to your ITSM so tickets are raised with context and to messaging channels so the incident team is alerted without delay.
Process is as important as tooling. Define who can approve high-impact actions such as account suspension and device isolation. Agree communication lines to front-of-house teams so they can switch to manual operations if needed. If you operate across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, confirm language and escalation paths per country to avoid delays during evening showings or weekend peaks.
Measurement and governance
Metrics and thresholds
Executives should see a small, stable set of metrics.
- Mean time to detect, MTTD. Target under 10 minutes for ransomware-behaviour detections after initial malicious activity.
- Mean time to contain, MTTC. Target under 20 minutes to isolate affected devices and suspend compromised accounts.
- Coverage percentage. Maintain above 95 percent of in-scope devices and identities reporting into XDR.
- Automated action rate. Aim for at least 60 percent of ransomware playbook steps executed automatically, with audit.
- Restore time. Prove you can restore critical ticketing or POS data within your defined recovery time objective.
These thresholds are realistic for mid-market operators that tune their platforms and rehearse playbooks quarterly.
Roles and accountability
Assign a business owner for continuity, typically the COO or Head of Operations. Security leadership, whether in-house or through a fractional model such as CISO-as-a-Service, owns policy and risk reporting. IT operations manages agents, integrations and backups. A small incident cadre should be on a defined rota to handle containment and communications. Third-party providers, such as payment gateways and ticketing SaaS, must be part of the contact tree with clear responsibilities for data and recovery.
Regional and regulatory considerations
Operating in Estonia and the wider EU brings benefits and obligations. You must align with the General Data Protection Regulation and, for many operators, with NIS2 if you meet scope thresholds. XDR supports these obligations by centralising evidence, enabling faster incident reporting and improving post-incident forensics. Cross-border operations in the Baltics often rely on shared cloud services. Ensure your platform respects data residency and that contracts reflect the handling of security telemetry.
How Cybertex Security can help
Cybertex Security maps your business risks to the right technology and operating model.
Our Security Technology Selection and Implementation service delivers a structured XDR journey. We document requirements, shortlist suitable platforms, run an instrumented pilot and design playbooks that your teams can operate. We then oversee rollout, knowledge transfer and post-deployment tuning so you see measurable improvements in detection and containment.
To build confidence and tighten controls around the paths attackers prefer, we recommend a focused Penetration Testing exercise and, where helpful, a targeted Security Assessment. These engagements validate assumptions, surface misconfigurations and help you prove readiness to your board.
Note: Cybertex Security recently won a competitive XDR tender in the region, as a state-owned organisation recognised the value of XDR and placed its trust in us as a partner.
If you want the same clarity and progress, start here: Security Technology Selection and Implementation or contact us via Contact.
FAQs
What is XDR and how does it help against ransomware?
XDR unifies alerts from endpoints, servers, and other devices into one analytics layer. It reduces dwell time and blocks malicious execution, helping to contain damage even if an attacker breaks in.
Will XDR prevent every ransomware incident?
No control stops every attack. XDR narrows the blast radius and speeds containment. Pair it with backups, hardening and regular testing.
How do we choose an XDR platform?
Focus on coverage of your systems, quality of detections, automation capability, reporting and total cost. A structured selection process avoids misfits and accelerates value.
What should we do before buying XDR?
Before purchasing an XDR solution, it is crucial to first strengthen the security fundamentals. Ensure multi-factor authentication is fully enabled, patch management is consistent, and backup systems are regularly tested for reliability. Conducting a ransomware-focused penetration test alongside a comprehensive security assessment will help define clear requirements and highlight potential gaps.
To minimise risk and validate real-world effectiveness, we recommend starting with a Proof of Concept trial, allowing your organisation to clearly see the value of the XDR platform before full investment.
