Attackers are getting faster, stealthier and harder to stop. In this high-stakes environment, speed isn’t just a technical metric—it’s a survival strategy. Your ability to detect and respond to incidents swiftly can mean the difference between a minor disruption and a full-blown breach. That’s why incident metrics like Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) have become vital in cyber security intelligence.
It is no longer a question of IF but WHEN a business will get breached and how they will prepare to minimise their attackers dwell time. The current average dwell time for attackers sits somewhere within the range of 100-140 days.
Dwell time is the measurement that captures the entire length of the security incident – from when the security threat enters your network to the time it’s been remediated. This can sometimes be referred to as the breach detection gap.
Why MTTD and MTTR matter
It’s no longer a question of if your business will face a security incident – it’s when. The real differentiator? How fast you can spot the threat and shut it down. The longer an attacker dwells in your network, the more damage they can do.
While earlier estimates suggested an average dwell time of 100 to 140 days, that figure has significantly decreased in recent years. According to Mandiant's M-Trends 2024 report, the global median attacker dwell time dropped to just 10 days, with ransomware-related breaches averaging around five days. Organisations with mature cyber security operations are now expected to detect and contain threats within 24 to 72 hours. These shrinking windows highlight the need for faster, smarter, and more proactive cyber threat intelligence strategies.
Defining the metrics
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Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) is the average time it takes your team to identify a potential threat after it has entered your network.
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Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) is the average time it takes to contain, remediate, or eliminate that threat once detected.
Both metrics are essential to evaluating the effectiveness of your cyber security operations.
Measuring performance, driving improvement
What gets measured gets managed. Tracking your MTTD and MTTR helps security teams identify weaknesses, prioritise improvements, and demonstrate the value of their efforts to stakeholders. While there’s no industry-wide benchmark, most organisations aim for a continual reduction in these metrics.
Several factors influence MTTD and MTTR, including threat complexity, tooling, team skill, and the maturity of your incident response processes. A lower MTTD leads to earlier detection, enabling faster action. Likewise, reducing MTTR ensures minimal impact and a swifter return to normal operations. Together, they’re the clearest indicators of your organisation’s ability to manage threats with strong cyber security threat intelligence.
Best practices to lower MTTD and MTTR
If your goal is faster detection and faster response (and it should be), these strategies will set you on the right path:
- Understanding the enemy: Tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs): Cyber threat intelligence hinges on understanding how attackers operate. Mapping threat actors' TTPs gives you context for alerts, helps analysts predict the next moves, and strengthens your detection rules. This is where cyber threat intelligence services make a difference—helping you act on relevant threat data, not just collect it.
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Build and test an incident Response Plan: A strong IR plan goes beyond process documentation. It needs to define your crown jewels, prioritise critical alerts, and map out clear escalation paths. Include tabletop exercises, red and purple team simulations, and scenario-based run-throughs to sharpen your team’s readiness.
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Establish a baseline: Know what 'normal' looks like: Without a clear baseline, anomalies are harder to spot. Understanding standard network and user behaviour helps your analysts zero in on unusual activity quickly. It also makes tuning detection tools and reducing false positives much easier.
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Accelerate with SOAR: Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms tie tools together, apply playbooks, and reduce manual steps. They help you triage, enrich, and respond to incidents faster—slashing your MTTR in the process.
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Leverage AI for smarter threat hunting: AI-powered cyber intelligence tools can sift through vast datasets, identify patterns, and flag suspicious behaviours earlier. Advanced threat-hunting platforms simulate attacker behaviour to proactively test hypotheses and spot threats before they escalate.
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Invest in Offensive Security and Continuous Assessment: Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, and Breach Simulations expose vulnerabilities and test your defences under real-world conditions. Frequent assessments improve response times and help fine-tune your tools and processes.
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Train people continuously: Your team is both your biggest risk and strongest asset. Ongoing Security Awareness Training and phishing campaigns can drastically reduce MTTD. Humans who know what to look for are faster to raise the alarm.
Top cyber security tools that drive results
To reduce MTTD and MTTR, the right tools are just as critical as skilled people and sharp processes. These technologies support—and often power—the practices outlined above:
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XDR (Extended Detection and Response): Integrates data across endpoints, cloud, and network.
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SIEM (Security Information and Event Management): Provides centralised logging, alerting, and forensics.
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SOAR: Speeds up incident handling through automated workflows.
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TIPs (Threat Intelligence Platforms): Operationalise cyber threat intelligence to stop known threats before they hit.
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EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response): Monitors and responds to endpoint-level threats in real-time.
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Breach & Attack Simulation (BAS): Continuously tests your defences under simulated attack conditions.
Each plays a unique role in shrinking the window between detection and resolution. When delivered as part of a managed solution—such as comprehensive cyber threat intelligence services—they become even more effective.
How AI is impacting MTTD and MTTR in cyber security
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the speed and sophistication of cyber defence. Here’s how it’s transforming incident response:
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Early detection: AI models detect anomalies in near real-time, flagging threats faster than human analysts.
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Smarter triage: Automated triage ensures threats are prioritised and routed efficiently.
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Pattern recognition: AI finds trends in threat behaviour, supporting proactive defence.
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Incident correlation: It connects isolated IoCs into a coherent story—reducing manual effort and time to respond.
By embedding AI into your cyber security threat intelligence workflows, your team can detect threats earlier, focus on what matters, and respond with confidence.
Your next step
Reducing MTTD, MTTR, and attacker dwell time takes deliberate action. You can do it alone – or tap into our experience. Our 24x7 Security Operations Centre provides day-to-day threat monitoring, vulnerability management, and cyber threat intelligence services tailored to your business.
Want to know how mature your current setup is? Try our 3-minute Security Operations Maturity Assessment. It delivers a tailored score, section insights, and a clear path forward.
Discover where you stand – and how to level up.
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