* [Blog](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog) * [Security Operations](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/) * [AI and Cybersecurity](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/ai-and-cybersecurity/) * From Silos to Synergy: Ho... # From Silos to Synergy: How Cortex XDL Transforms XDR to Elevate Threat Detection [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.paloaltonetworks.com%2Fblog%2Fsecurity-operations%2Ffrom-silos-to-synergy-how-cortex-xdl-transforms-xdr-to-elevate-threat-detection%2F) [](https://twitter.com/share?text=From+Silos+to+Synergy%3A+How+Cortex+XDL+Transforms+XDR+to+Elevate+Threat+Detection&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.paloaltonetworks.com%2Fblog%2Fsecurity-operations%2Ffrom-silos-to-synergy-how-cortex-xdl-transforms-xdr-to-elevate-threat-detection%2F) [](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.paloaltonetworks.com%2Fblog%2Fsecurity-operations%2Ffrom-silos-to-synergy-how-cortex-xdl-transforms-xdr-to-elevate-threat-detection%2F&title=From+Silos+to+Synergy%3A+How+Cortex+XDL+Transforms+XDR+to+Elevate+Threat+Detection&summary=&source=) [](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com//www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/from-silos-to-synergy-how-cortex-xdl-transforms-xdr-to-elevate-threat-detection/&ts=markdown) \[\](mailto:?subject=From Silos to Synergy: How Cortex XDL Transforms XDR to Elevate Threat Detection) Link copied By [Alice Nguyen](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/alice-nguyen/?ts=markdown "Posts by Alice Nguyen") Oct 07, 2025 4 minutes [AI and Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/ai-and-cybersecurity/?ts=markdown) [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown) [News and Events](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/news-and-events/?ts=markdown) [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown) [Use-Cases](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/use-cases/?ts=markdown) [Cortex XDL](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/cortex-xdl/?ts=markdown) [Cortex XDR](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/cortex-xdr/?ts=markdown) [cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/cybersecurity/?ts=markdown) [endpoint security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/endpoint-security/?ts=markdown) [extended data lake](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/extended-data-lake/?ts=markdown) [Extended Detection and Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/extended-detection-and-response/?ts=markdown) Security teams today are facing a new reality. While we have more data than ever before, the sheer volume can be overwhelming, making it difficult to find the actionable intelligence needed to stop threats. Your endpoint system might flag an incident, but if that critical context is trapped in isolated data silos, attackers can outpace your response, moving deeper into your network before you even know they're there. Why the delay? Legacy security operations are often fragmented by design. You're forced to rely on separate tools for endpoint security (EDR), network logs (NDR), identity (ITDR), and other critical sources, creating a fundamental disconnect between detection and remediation. These systems suffer from incompatible formats, timing gaps, and lost context, turning a security incident into a manual scavenger hunt. The shift begins with Cortex^®^ Extended Data Lake (XDL), the unified AI-ready data foundation that transforms disconnected security tools into a coordinated, AI-driven defense. By providing an integrated data foundation for your entire security operations, XDL allows Cortex XDR^®^ to move beyond traditional endpoint security to become a comprehensive, AI-driven security operations platform. This approach empowers Cortex XDR to operate as part of a single, integrated system, leveraging crucial telemetry from your network, cloud, identity, and third-party tools to give you a full, contextual view of every threat. ![Image 1: Extend the power of Cortex XDR with Cortex XDL](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/word-image-345962-1.png) Image 1: Extend the power of Cortex XDR with Cortex XDL ### Unified Security Operations The Cortex XDR agent serves as the core data engine for a modern SOC. By gathering all security telemetry through a single, frictionless agent, it populates the Cortex XDL platform with a continuous stream of comprehensive, high-quality data. This single-agent architecture means your security data is ready to be analyzed instantly, eliminating redundant collection and manual effort. This "collect once, analyze infinitely" model provides the rich context needed for new security capabilities to instantly tap into the data without complex integration work. ### Eliminating Silos for Complete Context Legacy security tools struggle to connect the dots across different data sources, but Cortex XDL changes this by breaking down data silos. It automatically normalizes data from hundreds of security tools into a single, cohesive format. When telemetry from the Cortex XDR agent is stored in this unified foundation, it ensures comprehensive correlation and visibility, closing the critical gaps that make it difficult for security analysts and AI to see the full story of an attack. This unified approach provides complete context for every threat. ### Accelerating AI and Analyst Efficacy Cortex XDL is more than just a data store---it structures your security data specifically for machine learning, which allows Cortex XDR's AI to connect events and data points across your entire environment. This optimized approach allows our models to pinpoint subtle and complex attack patterns that would be nearly impossible to find in raw data. The platform also gives your security team a huge library of over 10,000 pre-built detectors and 2,600 ML models. By grouping related alerts into a single, contextualized case, the platform significantly cuts down on analyst workload, freeing them to focus on high-value threat hunting. ### Conclusion The combination of Cortex XDR, providing industry-leading endpoint protection and rich telemetry, and Cortex XDL, serving as the AI-ready unified data foundation, represents a fundamental shift from tool-centric to data-centric security operations. This platformized approach ensures that security data is always correlated, AI-optimized, and instantly available for new security use cases. This transformation results in a change in workflow, allowing analysts to spend their time hunting for sophisticated threats and building stronger defenses instead of being burdened with manual data correlation across disconnected tools. **Ready to transform your endpoint security? Explore how [Cortex XDR](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xdr) and [Cortex Extended Data Lake](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/resources/techbriefs/cortex-extended-data-lake) can help you leverage unified data to secure every endpoint and reduce risk.** ***See how XDL powers email security and vulnerability management in our blog "[Breaking Down Security Silos: How XDL Powers Advanced Threat Operations](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/breaking-down-security-silos-how-xdl-powers-advanced-threat-operations/)."*** *** ** * ** *** ## Related Blogs ### [AI and Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/ai-and-cybersecurity/?ts=markdown), [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [News and Events](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/news-and-events/?ts=markdown) [#### Cortex XDR is the Only Endpoint Security Market Leader to Achieve 99% in Both Threat Prevention and Response in AVC EPR](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/cortex-xdr-is-the-only-endpoint-security-market-leader-to-achieve-99-in-both-threat-prevention-and-response-in-avc-epr/) ### [AI and Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/ai-and-cybersecurity/?ts=markdown), [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [News and Events](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/news-and-events/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown), [Use-Cases](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/use-cases/?ts=markdown) [#### SE Labs Awards Palo Alto Networks AAA Rating and 100% Prevention Against Ransomware](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/se-labs-awards-palo-alto-networks-aaa-rating-and-100-prevention-against-ransomware/) ### [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown) [#### Stop Alert Fatigue: Fine-Tune Cortex XDR Analytics for Zero-Noise Security](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/stop-alert-fatigue-fine-tune-cortex-xdr-analytics-for-zero-noise-security/) ### [AI and Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/ai-and-cybersecurity/?ts=markdown), [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown), [Use-Cases](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/use-cases/?ts=markdown) [#### NL2XQL: Turning Natural Language into Powerful Cybersecurity Querying](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/nl2xql-turning-natural-language-into-powerful-cybersecurity-querying/) ### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [News and Events](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/news-and-events/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown) [#### Forrester Names Palo Alto Networks a Leader in XDR](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/06/forrester-names-palo-alto-networks-a-leader-in-xdr/) ### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Company \& Culture](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/company-culture/?ts=markdown), [Must-Read Articles](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/must-read-articles/?ts=markdown), [News and Events](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/news-and-events/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown) [#### 2022 MITRE Engenuity ATT\&CK Evaluations Results](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2022/03/mitre-engenuity-evaluations-round-4-results/) ### Subscribe to Security Operations Blogs! 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