CrowdStrike Falcon Reviews

It gives an overview and insights into my AD accounts. It shows if any identity, like an AD user, is compromised, has a weak password, or is logging in from an unusual system. Any anomalies.

I like the insights and detailed view of my AD structure. How protected it is, or is there any loophole or an area that needs more protection. 

Another feature I like is that it gives insights into all my domain controllers and ADCs. The configuration is also really easy.

The real-time monitoring feature is good. For example, a user account is hacked. It alerts me that it's been hacked and prompts me to look into it or have the user change their password. I can then log in to my AD, change the password, or notify the user that their account has been compromised and ask them to change their password.

AI capabilities of CrowdStrike are also good. 

When I use Identity Protection, I want the full stack, like going for XDR. If anything happens, like a laptop being compromised using a password, it gives me the entire attack flow. For example, the attack came from a particular user, like an IT admin. If their identity is hacked and they log into multiple systems, and those systems are affected, we can see those details and provide good support or recovery for customers and partners.

I'm concerned about the recent issue in July 2024. It involved a faulty content configuration update. What if another update causes the same problem again?

I have been using it for two years.

Stability, I would rate it as a seven out of ten. There are a few instances where our customers have complained about the digital signatures it uses. Sometimes, even if you create a policy, it still tends to block it. A few applications get flagged as malicious even though the customer trusts them. Even if you create an exception rule, it might still block it after a few weeks. Also, there's the recent issue we faced with CrowdStrike and Windows. So, based on that, I'd give it a seven out of ten.

There is room for improvement. They need to conduct more thorough R&D before releasing updates. I think they didn't do that this time, but it was just a one-time issue. However, what if it happens again? That's a concern.

Scalability-wise, I would give it a ten out of ten. It's simple because it's a SaaS solution. For example, this month, I have 50 users. Next month, I have 50 additional users. I just need to buy more licenses and add those systems to CrowdStrike. If I need to put them in certain groups with specific policies, that's easy too.

We work with all types of businesses, including small, medium, and enterprise businesses. Scalability is simple. I don't even need to install it on my laptop. One more good thing is that it offers an XDR view where I can add other components, like the email security solution Proofpoint. I can integrate it, so I'll get my emails and everything will be in a single pane of glass.  

We have a Technical Account Manager (TAM). We can directly call them and raise a ticket. Initially, it was a six or even a five because we had to send an email, and it would take three to four days for them to reply. Now, with the TAM, we can get issues resolved faster.

Positive

I have experience with CrowdStrike, apart from their Cloud Security offering, which is on GCP. I've worked with CrowdStrike Identity Protection, Device Control, Device Control, EDR, XDR - basically everything except their cloud solution.

The initial setup is straightforward. I don't need to install an agent in my AD, and I can get alerts from my read-only domain controller, which is also good.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten, with ten being easy and one being difficult. 

It's not required to deploy on-premises. It's a SaaS solution. I just need to download the agent and install it on each of my devices, whether they're VMs or my laptop. 

One more good thing is that I don't need to be in my office network for it to keep protecting me. I can take the system home, and it will still be protected.

The deployment itself takes about a day to install everything if it's user-based. But for CrowdStrike to learn what to block and what not to block in your specific environment, it will take easily about two weeks. There will be some applications that it might consider a threat because it's a next-gen AV that uses AI. 

So, some applications the customer uses might be flagged. I can whitelist them or create a policy to allow them. That's also a very good feature of CrowdStrike. 

So, for the initial setup takes two weeks. For it to get to know your environment and work smoothly, just to install agents and set up the dashboard, policies, and all that, it takes about one day.

It offers seamless integration with the existing security infrastructure. We haven't faced any challenges because our customers use CrowdStrike only for endpoint and server security. They haven't gone to the XDR level yet. However, many other OEMs I've spoken to, like Zerto, have said that the CrowdStrike and Zerto integration is very seamless. So, if anything happens on my server end, I'll know when it happened and what the issue is from CrowdStrike. Or, for example a ransomware attack happens, I can restore from my Zerto application.

The benefit I've seen is their backend, which powers the EDR, XDR, and NGAV. It's really good because it can detect anything due to the wide range of customers they have. 

For example, one customer has a vulnerability because of a zero-day attack. All the other customers will benefit because it propagates to the cloud and analyzes if other customers are on the same version of the drivers or any other Windows patch. If they are, it will tell us that there's an issue and provide remediation steps. Many of our customers find this very helpful. It's called the CrowdStrike community.

I would rate it a seven out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive because it's a bit on the costlier side. Compared to Symantec or Trend Micro, CrowdStrike is more expensive.

Overall, I would rate the product an eight out of ten because of one recent issue that happened. 

I'm concerned about the recent issue that happened. What if another update causes the same problem again? Is it really as good as it seems? Even our customers have given very good feedback, they get more insights into what's happening, what they should do, and what remediation steps to take. So, in that way, it's very good.

I would recommend it, especially if you're going for endpoint security. I'd definitely recommend CrowdStrike first because it's more mature than SentinelOne and other EDR solutions in the APAC region.

CrowdStrike Falcon is our platform for IT security, encompassing endpoint security, cloud security, and EDR capabilities.

CrowdStrike protected us from a cyberattack. That's why I believe it's a very effective product. It's already prevented attacks on 2 occasions. It successfully quarantined suspicious files, essentially making our organization much safer.

We also leverage CrowdStrike Falcon Overwatch, a managed threat-hunting service offered by CrowdStrike. This service complements CrowdStrike's EDR functionality, which provides automated detection and response capabilities against external attacks. In our case, CrowdStrike successfully identified and automatically contained a cyberattack launched against our organization.

Our CrowdStrike Falcon integration with our SIEM is proving to be flexible.

The most valuable aspects of CrowdStrike Falcon for me are its device observability, identification, and software and OS recognition. It also excels in external media control, particularly USB access. The ability to disable USB access to flash drives significantly improves security.

Furthermore, Falcon helps identify patches needed for Windows, Mac, and other operating systems. This provides valuable reports and insights into our system vulnerabilities, allowing us to proactively address them.

If CrowdStrike can further expand its support for XDR compatibility, that would give it an edge over all the other competing new products.

I have been using CrowdStrike Falcon for 2 years.

I would rate the stability of CrowdStrike Falcon 8 out of 10.

We've deployed CrowdStrike Falcon across all 3,000 of our endpoints, and it has demonstrated excellent scalability. Therefore, scalability is not a concern for CrowdStrike in terms of performance or its ability to handle growth.

I would rate the scalability a 9 out of 10.

The deployment was straightforward, taking 2 months for 3,000 endpoints. We implemented it directly where needed. The process was simple and easy. We believe this approach offers advantages due to its lower complexity compared to other methods. Careful planning was essential, and with a clear plan for sensor installation, we were able to execute the deployment successfully.

While a third party handled the implementation, the OEM provided us with direct training on Falcon alongside CrowdStrike.

CrowdStrike Falcon has demonstrably provided a positive return on investment. We've already encountered two specific instances where, without CrowdStrike, the company would have faced millions in damages. In one case, we would have likely lost our entire SAP system.

The pricing of CrowdStrike Falcon is competitive.

After evaluating SentinelOne, we found CrowdStrike to be a superior solution. CrowdStrike offers advantages in dashboard compatibility and a feature called Overwatch, which gives it a competitive edge.

I would rate CrowdStrike Falcon 8 out of 10.

CrowdStrike Falcon is deployed in multiple branches across India.

No maintenance is required from our end.

I recommend CrowdStrike Falcon. It is not a solution we need to think twice about using.

We use CrowdStrike Falcon as a managed SOC for intrusion detection on our endpoints.

Being a cloud-native solution, CrowdStrike Falcon provides flexibility and always-on protection. This is extremely important to have the best protection available.

It is a fully managed service, so they provide all the necessary updates for us which is helpful.

While CrowdStrike Falcon provides us with better peace of mind in terms of protection, it also generates alerts for potential threats, requiring our investigation. However, the platform further alleviates our anxiety by automatically reviewing unaddressed alerts, offering an additional layer of security. This coverage fosters a heightened sense of security.

CrowdStrike Falcon has been instrumental in preventing breaches, allowing us to operate with significantly increased security compared to the past. This has provided us with much greater peace of mind. While no security solution is foolproof, Falcon has brought us remarkably close. 

The anomaly detection is the most valuable feature.

The portal can be clunky to navigate at times and has room for improvement.

I have been using CrowdStrike Falcon for two years.

I would rate the stability of CrowdStrike Falcon a nine out of ten. The only issue I have had is with an old version of the endpoint that was installed and has proven to be problematic. 

CrowdStrike Falcon is scalable.

The technical support is good and they provide prompt responses to all of our questions.

Positive

We implemented CrowdStrike Falcon in response to a security incident. It was the first endpoint detection and response service we had ever used, and we've been utilizing it since 2021.

Deploying the sensors to our endpoints is straightforward. We do have a manual process for deploying the sensors to our endpoints. There are also options to do it through a group policy. It doesn't seem overly complex.

We rolled the solution out to our entire estate which took just over one week. We had up to 300 endpoints and required a team of five people to complete the deployment.

CrowdStrike Falcon enables us to save on resources which in turn provides a 20 percent return on investment.

CrowdStrike Falcon offers excellent value for the money for our organization, particularly given our lean IT team. We lack the resources to replicate the full security services they provide without hiring additional personnel. The cost of Falcon is likely comparable to, or even less than, the salary and benefits we'd need for an extra employee. Furthermore, their on-call experts have more expertise, further enhancing the value proposition.

After a year, we reevaluated our endpoint security solution. We considered several options, including Arctic Wolf, SentinelOne, and Darktrace, alongside our existing Fortinet solutions. We participated in demos and ultimately determined that CrowdStrike's offering, both current and future, remained the best fit. While we hadn't initially explored other options before choosing CrowdStrike, external factors subsequently forced our hand. However, after a year of use and further evaluation, we reaffirmed our decision, concluding that CrowdStrike was still the most suitable solution for our needs.

I would rate CrowdStrike Falcon a nine out of ten.

We have around 300 endpoints and three people who have access to the solution.

Three people are required for maintenance.

CrowdStrike Falcon was recommended by our head office in Germany.

I recommend CrowdStrike Falcon. 

We use the solution for endpoint security. We use the tool to ensure the endpoints are protected from abnormal activities, people don't run different scripts, and people don't compromise endpoints and use them to get into the network.

The solution's most valuable feature is that it is robust and can detect almost every malicious activity that occurs within the endpoint.

I would like a centralized deployment where I could roll out or push it to all endpoints.

I have been using CrowdStrike Falcon Surface for two years.

CrowdStrike Falcon Surface is a very stable solution.

CrowdStrike Falcon Surface is a very scalable solution. A lot of customers are using CrowdStrike Falcon Surface. One of our customers for the solution has 12,000 endpoints.

The solution's technical support is handled centrally by CrowdStrike, and the support was also good and knowledgeable.

I didn't deploy the solution, but I supported customers that use it. I think it took them up to six months to deploy the CrowdStrike Falcon Surface.

The solution somehow doesn't allow intrusion and minimizes fraud or cyber-attacks. Within the time we're using it, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface detected a lot of intrusion from malicious individuals. It was able to prevent a lot of insider threats where people internally will want to run some malicious scripts within the environment.

It detects those malicious attacks quickly, and we can prevent them. It minimized a lot of cyber and fraud-related activities that could have cost the bank a lot of money.

CrowdStrike Falcon Surface is a cloud-based solution. In light of the recent global IT outage that affected CrowdStrike, they should do proper change management.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

The tool helps to increase security because the threats we face keep changing, so we need better protection. In the past, we've faced some attacks on our network, and while we managed to deal with them, we realized we needed even stronger protection. That's why we decided to implement CrowdStrike Identity Protection.

The main feature we rely on is the product's intelligence. We appreciate the advice from the team during implementation. One of the main reasons we chose this product is its compatibility with Office 365.

Improvement is always possible. It's challenging to gauge how much future mitigation is provided, especially since we've only been using the product for about one and a half years. Every product faces this challenge because nothing is ever completely foolproof. So, besides relying on technology, we also focus on increasing our staff's awareness of security issues. Feedback from my colleagues suggests that the reporting and dashboarding of incidents could be improved.

I have been working with the product for one and a half years. 

I rate the tool's stability an eight out of ten. 

Scalability isn't a problem for us. Many big multinational companies use CrowdStrike Identity Protection, so it's designed to handle environments like ours without any issues. My company has 500 users. 

The tool's deployment is easy. Thanks to the installation scripting we utilized, the technical rollout took about two weeks. Then, there was some additional time, around two to four weeks, for customization and configuration. After that, the systems were up and running. So, all in all, it took about three months to have our mitigation strategies in place. We have one engineer for maintenance. 

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten. I would recommend it to others. However, it's crucial to understand areas where the product might not provide coverage and how to mitigate those gaps. For example, it covers endpoints, networks, and Office 365 environments, but are there other areas in the attack surface that it doesn't address well? It's essential to be aware of any potential gaps upfront.

The solution helps in preventing incidents. However, it's challenging to quantify the exact impact because we don't know what would have happened without it. It's similar to having insurance for your house. 

We use CrowdStrike Falcon for both our server and endpoint security, including our users' laptops and PCs.

CrowdStrike Falcon has made a significant difference for us, especially in mitigating ransomware and zero-day attacks. Its proactive and defensive response approach effectively isolates threats, setting it apart from other endpoint solutions.

Integrating CrowdStrike Falcon into our environment was seamless. Once we set the policy the software was activated immediately and distributed on all our endpoints.

The real-time response is highly effective. It automatically takes immediate action whenever it detects suspicious activity, alerting us to the problem and providing clear mitigation steps. In some cases, it even pushes through updates to resolve the issue proactively.

The usability and interface of CrowdStrike Falcon for daily operations are good. 

The managed services are distinguished, responsive, dynamic, flexible, and assertive when taking action.

CrowdStrike Falcon could be enhanced by extending its security capabilities to include NDR and XDR.

The pricing has room for improvement.

I have been using CrowdStrike Falcon for three years.

In the three years of using CrowdStrike Falcon, we have not encountered any stability issues.

CrowdStrike Falcon scales well. We are using it in a large environment with no problems.

The technical support is responsive.

Positive

We previously used both Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response and Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response but found that they lacked the 24/7/365 monitoring and response offered by CrowdStrike Falcon. Additionally, their detection capabilities, particularly for ransomware and zero-day attacks, were not as effective.

The initial deployment was straightforward and non-disruptive. The deployment took one week to complete.

We required two people from our organization for the deployment on-site and the CrowdStrike team worked remotely.

The CrowdStrike team helped with the implementation.

CrowdStrike Falcon is one of the more expensive endpoint solutions on the market.

I would rate CrowdStrike Falcon an eight out of ten.

We deployed CrowdStrike Falcon across all our locations, including subsidiaries and remote sites in various regions.

Maintaining CrowdStrike Falcon is simple because it only requires a client agent to be installed on the machine at the kernel level, below the operating system.

We're installing the solution on some of our external servers. It has a cloud portal, and we can control everything through the cloud. It's good for remote sites.

I like that it has a centralized cloud, and all the agents provide visibility on our remote sites. It offers good central management. It can be accessed through external networks.

The management is taken care of. It's a complete solution that's taken care of by CrowdStrike. We don't have to do anything. 

We'd like to see more integration capabilities. 

We need more log storage as CrowdStrike will dump all logs to the centralized server. 

I've been using the solution for five years. 

The solution is stable enough. We have not had any downtime. The only issue is if we have issues with the internet connectivity. 

We get support from their local vendors. We have a lot of local support. If they cannot handle the case, they directly forward the issue to CrowdStrike. The downside is that support asks for too many logs. We, of course, have to investigate first and try to solve the problem ourselves. 

Neutral

I've worked with Kaspersky. They are a similar solution. I've also used Microsoft Defender, which is also very similar. We do use a lot of Microsoft products, and Defender is readily available everywhere. They are the market leaders right now. Their software has very good integration across the whole Microsoft product offering. CrowdStrike, however, we have high trust with, as they are focused specifically on security, unlike Microsoft. CrowdStrike offers updates quicker than Microsoft or other services. 

The initial setup is a very fast process. Cloud solutions are fast to set up. They just give you access to their cloud and they have an API integration. It will be up and running within a few minutes. 

The tool is very expensive. It's similar to Microsoft Defender. That said, it's not overpriced. It's worth it for the level of security. We need it for our company. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. 

The following is a list of use cases that were tested and evaluated against Crowd Strike along with different competitors.

1 - Execution of Fileless Ransomware - The test was conducted using PowerShell script execution, the script was executed using privileges rights and it was successful. Although all the preventive controls were enabled in the CS falcon dashboard, CS falcon had raised a red flag regarding fileless execution, however, the moment it let us know our system got encrypted.

2 - Uploading large volume of Data over the cloud - Using customized script in the USB, a test was conducted to copy (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .png, .jpg, .pdf, .txt, .rtf) files from the system. It performs a copy operation from the whole disk and creates a password-protected .zip file in APPDATA of the complete files, once the protected file is created it then checks the internet connectivity. As soon as the script finds connectivity with 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4. it starts sending the protected .ZIP file over its CnC cloud.

3 - Disabling of CS Falcon Agent - I have conducted a test to disable the Falcon agent from the Windows-based OS. The agent was successfully disabled by booting up another OS and renaming of agent files from the system.

4 - Perform Privilege Task in Crowd strike - CS roles have some additional privileges. While performing host containment, it has the ability to perform the following operations without informing the user: 

* Host Containment 
* Isolating the host from the network;
* Copying data from the host machine into the CS cloud;

Considering the above situation it may cause a breach of user privacy due to which user can file a complaint against InfoSec team.

The solution fits well in the organization and took out valuable output as expected from Endpoint Detection and Response solution.

This solution supersedes the requirement of an Endpoint Protection solution. The cost of EPP can be saved while using EDR.

One good thing is the active association of the Crowd Strike team in terms of support and coordination. 

Features that require further evaluation include:

Let's take an example of ten machines that require CS falcon agent installation. Apart from agent compatibility and ease of installation, one of the most important areas is the network bandwidth which would require whenever an agent updates the server through the cloud. 

An estimated network bandwidth utilization takes 0.4 MB/hour for a single machine to update its probes over the cloud. If we estimate the total working hours in our case it is eight hours, the formula would be 0.4 X 8 = 3.2 MB per host per day is the data uploading requirement on the cloud. It is highly recommended to assess a number of agents and the network bandwidth requirements.

The CS falcon agent is a lightweight agent compared with other agents of EDR products. Moreover, the following is the list of valuable features which I found very useful:
1 - Lateral Movement  
2 - Overwatch detections
3 - Custom IOC blocking
4 - Suspicious Process and Registry operations
5 - Azure/AWS agent installation and easy integration with SIEM
6 - Triage of the complete incident is well created in the CS dashboard. It helps to show complete details about the incident.
7 - It is an agent-based license not machine-based, so once the machine gets outdated/old, installation of the same agent license in another machine is possible.

Area of Improvement

The products still require improvement in the Apple environment (Mac). Currently, this solution (as of July 2022) is not compatible with MAC OS (X), Catalina, or Big Sur.

Similarly, the product is also not compatible with Unix-based systems including AIX, Darwin, and FreeBSD.

CS Falcon sensing capabilities for non-domain machines should be enhanced since the agent doesn't detect the neighbor's IP Address and/or any anomaly which was identified in the network for the non-domain machine.

Additional Features required in the Next release:

The product requires an add-on feature which should be a turnkey feature if it requires to be turned on to XDR no changes should be required to be made on the user end as the agent is already installed.

The solution has been used for around two years, including the demo version with full features and final version with specific features.

This solution has been used without any compatibility issue and/or technical failure due to anti-virus installation.

When we procured Crowd Strike as an EDR it was on the Gartner top ranking as well.

The agent was being utilized in Windows Servers (2016, 2019), Linux Servers (Fedora, Red hat, Cent OS), Windows Endpoints (10, 11), and Mac. 

The solution is stable and we have used it for more than 2500+ hosts.

It is a cloud-based solution - so scalability is not an issue.

When it comes to customer service and support is that the principal engages whenever required.

Positive

This was the first product that we evaluated out of 6 (six) products.

The setup was straightforward and it's easy to use.

A vendor team was engaged in the installation of the complete solution.

Licensing is relatively low than other EDR solutions.

We evaluated Carbon Black and FireEye.

Crowd Strike is a good solution. However, it requires you to build more features in protecting Endpoint agents for example:

DOM Improvement
DLL's Injections
Detection of CNC in Network Neighbors
Detection of similar attack surfaces in the network.