Context and why it matters for healthcare in Estonia and the EU
Hospitals are part of critical infrastructure. Any cyber incident risks patient safety, continuity of care and public trust. Unlike many sectors, healthcare cannot defer decisions to quieter periods. Ward systems, imaging, lab workflows and clinical scheduling must remain available every hour.
Estonian providers operate in a connected landscape, with referral pathways across the Baltics and the wider EU. This interdependence increases the attack surface, including third party risk. At the same time, budgets are tight and on site IT teams are lean. An approach that unifies detection and streamlines response is therefore essential.
In this setting, XDR, Extended Detection and Response, offers practical value. It is not only about finding malware on a laptop. It is about correlating activity across devices, users and services, then guiding responders to contain threats before they disrupt care. For boards and executives, the benefit is reduced risk of downtime and a clearer line of sight on incident handling.
Core topic explained without fluff
What it is and what it is not
XDR is a security capability that ingests telemetry from multiple domains, for example endpoints, servers, network flows, identity systems and email gateways. It uses analytics to correlate signals, detect suspicious behaviours and orchestrate response actions such as isolating a host or disabling a compromised account.
XDR is not simply antivirus or traditional endpoint detection. It is also not a substitute for governance, patching or backup. It complements a Security Information and Event Management system, SIEM, by focusing on real time detection and response rather than long term log retention. In many programmes, a SIEM provides compliance reporting, while XDR delivers speed and precision on the front line.
Typical weak points or failure modes
- Coverage gaps across clinical devices, for example imaging stations or legacy operating systems.
- Alert fatigue due to poor tuning, which hides real incidents.
- Limited identity hygiene, for example shared accounts or weak multi factor authentication.
- Weak integration with IT service management, which breaks the audit trail.
- Lack of runbooks, so responders decide ad hoc under pressure.
Practical playbook
Step by step actions
Start with a scoped assessment. Map the device estate, critical applications and clinical workflows. Identify systems that require maintenance windows and those that cannot be interrupted.
Design for coverage. Enrol priority endpoints and servers first, then extend to clinical stations and administrative terminals. Where legacy operating systems exist, apply compensating controls such as network micro segmentation and gateway inspection.
Pilot in a controlled ward or department. Validate telemetry, analytics quality and containment actions. Use real helpdesk tickets to test workflows and audit trails.
Roll out in phases. Coordinate with clinical leads to avoid peak times. Communicate clearly to ward managers so that staff know what to expect. Maintain a rollback plan for each wave.
Tune relentlessly. Suppress noisy benign activity. Promote high fidelity detections that indicate credential misuse, lateral movement or data exfiltration. Capture lessons learned in runbooks and update them after every incident or exercise.
Exercise incident response. Run tabletops and technical simulations that include clinical, facilities and communications leads. Measure how quickly roles assemble, how decisions are made and how services recover.
Embed continuous improvement. Schedule regular reviews to update rules, refresh exclusions and track metrics. Align the cadence with governance requirements and board reporting.
Tooling and process integration
XDR works best when integrated into existing systems. Connect identity providers so that risky sign ins and privilege escalations are detected in context. Forward critical alerts to your SIEM for compliance reporting and long term analytics. Link to your IT service management platform so that every containment and recovery step is recorded, approved and reversible.
In hospitals, integration with clinical engineering is vital. Many medical devices have strict support constraints. Where agents are not feasible, instrument the network path or deploy virtual sensors. Document these exceptions as part of risk acceptance and revisit them during device refresh cycles.
Measurement and governance
Metrics and thresholds
Set a small number of clear measures that executives understand.
- Mean time to detect, MTTD: aim for minutes, not hours.
- Mean time to respond, MTTR: contain priority incidents within a single hour where feasible.
- Coverage: greater than 95 percent of in scope endpoints and servers enrolled.
- False positive rate: monitored and decreasing quarter on quarter.
- Playbook tests: at least one critical scenario exercised each quarter.
Roles and accountability
Define who leads in and out of hours. Name an executive sponsor, typically the CIO or COO. Assign a clinical liaison to assess patient safety impact for any containment action. IT operations lead on patching and recovery. Cybertex Security provides design, tuning and on call support where required, complemented by internal teams or our Security-as-a-Service model. Governance is overseen through change advisory and risk committees, with reporting suitable for board and regulator audiences. Where desired, our CISO-as-a-Service offering can formalise this oversight.
Regional and regulatory considerations
Hospitals in Estonia and across the EU are subject to increasing expectations under frameworks such as NIS2. Regulators expect proportionate security monitoring, prompt incident handling and evidence of continuous improvement. Public sector buyers often procure through competitive tenders. The Narva Hospital engagement illustrates that multi year agreements are achievable through transparent processes, aligning security lifecycles with budget planning.
How Cybertex Security can help
We map your risk and operational realities to a practical XDR plan. For buyers comparing options, our Security Technology Selection and Implementation service helps choose, deploy and integrate the right platform with minimal disruption. We also support readiness through Security Assessment and can operate day to day monitoring through Security-as-a-Service.
Scenario: a regional hospital aims to reduce incident dwell time without adding staff. We baseline coverage, deploy XDR to priority systems, integrate identity signals and helpdesk workflows, then tune detections. Within weeks the team reports clearer alerts, faster containment and greater confidence in out of hours decisions, while clinical operations continue uninterrupted.
If you are planning an XDR project or need to course correct an existing one, speak to us via Contact.
FAQs
Is XDR suitable for legacy clinical systems?
Yes, but it may require compensating controls. Where agents are not possible, use network based visibility and strict access controls, and document the risk.
Will XDR replace our SIEM?
No. XDR focuses on detection and response. SIEM remains valuable for long term storage, compliance and correlation across wider sources.
How disruptive is the rollout?
With phased planning and clear communications, rollout can be done around clinical schedules. Pilots reduce risk, and rollback plans protect service continuity.
