The Case for Privacy-First Cybersecurity

If you run a startup or small business, you already know cybersecurity isn’t just an “enterprise problem” anymore. 

88% of ransomware attacks now target startups and SMBs, because SMBs are seen as soft targets.

You need modern protection for your business, but the moment you start researching tools, you hit a wall of acronyms like EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response).
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Then you learn how EDR works.
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Most EDRs install an agent on your computer that watches everything: every file opened, every process started, every change to the registry, even what happens in memory.

And all that data (your company’s source code, client files, and financial plans) is packaged up and shipped off to someone else’s cloud for analysis.
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That’s when the questions start popping up in your mind…
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• Who can see it?
• How long is it stored?
• What happens if they get breached?

These are real concerns. And they stem from a design choice: most EDRs are built “cloud-first”, relying on an active internet connection to deliver protection.

But there’s a better, privacy-first EDR to get the same protection, without giving up control of your data.
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The “Black Box” Problem with Cloud-First EDR

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Traditional EDR tools have their brains in the cloud. All the heavy analysis of your data takes place on their cloud infrastructure. The small agent on your laptop ecords everything and sends the data (called telemetry) to the vendor’s servers for analysis.

That’s where decisions are made about what’s normal and what’s malicious.

It’s efficient for the vendor. But for your business, it introduces three serious risks.

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1. The Privacy & Breach Risk

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The moment your data leaves your environment, it’s no longer fully yours. The vendor’s employees, AI models, and subcontractors now have visibility into your company’s most sensitive operations.

If that vendor ever gets breached, your data could be part of the fallout.

This isn’t some theoretical risk. F5 Networks revealed in October 2025 that attackers had breached their systems (used by 4 of 5 Fortune 500 companies), and achieved “persistent, sustained” access to F5 systems for over two years.
 

2. The Connectivity Risk

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Cloud-first EDRs need an internet connection to function. No connection, no protection, it’s that simple.

So if your employee is on a plane, in a rural area, or simply offline when malware strikes, the “cloud brain” of your EDR can’t help. 

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You can be getting hacked while you sip your latte, and your EDR will never know because it had no WiFi to phone home.

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3. The Reaction-Time Risk

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Modern ransomware moves fast. Like REALLY fast, often encrypting entire drives in seconds. Cloud EDRs have to:
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1. Detect suspicious behavior
   
2. Package and send data to the vendor’s cloud
   
3. Wait for AI analysis
   
4. Receive the verdict
   
5. Send a “kill” command back to your device

Even if this round-trip takes only 10 to 15 seconds, the damage is done. Your files are already locked.

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A Better Way: How Privacy-First EDR Works

Privacy-first EDR flips the model.

Instead of shipping your raw data to the cloud for analysis, it brings the analysis to your data,  right on your device.
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The EDR’s “brain” (its behavioral analysis, AI models, and detection logic) runs locally. It monitors all system activity in real time and responds instantly, without sending your sensitive files or data off-site.
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If an attack is detected, it squashes the attack immediately, and the only thing transmitted is a lightweight alert such as “Malicious process terminated on Joan’s laptop.”

No source code. No document inspection. No employee data leaving your network.

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Your protection stays strong and fast, and your privacy stays intact.
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How Cybee EDR Shows a Different Way Forward

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Because Cybee is a Swiss company, Cybee EDR was built from the ground up for startups and SMBs that refuse to trade their data privacy for protection.

Its architecture delivers full enterprise-grade defense without the cloud dependency.
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A. No Internet Required for Core Protection

Cybee’s agent is fully autonomous. It provides complete protection even when offline, which is great for high-security applications, remote teams, field devices, or travel. You don’t need Wi-Fi to stay fully secure. The massive AWS outage in October 2025 was a good reminder how much a cloud dependency can cripple software.

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B. Local, Real-Time Analysis

At the heart of Cybee EDR is a kernel-mode driver that monitors activity at the operating-system level. This is paired with a user-mode service that runs advanced behavioral analysis directly on the endpoint. Cybee detects ransomware and infostealer patterns in real time, stopping attacks in seconds before they can spread.

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C. Zero Outbound Data

Because all analysis happens locally, Cybee EDR doesn’t need to phone home. It requires no outbound ports for its core function.
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D. Passes the “Air-Gap” Test

Some organizations operate in air-gapped environments. Air-gapped networks are physically disconnected from the internet for maximum security (think critical infrastructure, healthcare, finance, or cryptocurrency custody).

Most cloud-based EDRs can’t function in air-gapped environments because of their cloud dependency. Cybee EDR can, because its AI engine runs entirely on the protected device.
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E. International Data Privacy

Another massive concern is government access to your data. US-based technology companies have to comply with the US CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) which gives US law enforcement access to your data.

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The US CLOUD Act dictates that US companies must share ANY data stored on their servers with US law enforcement, whenever requested. This applies to ANY data stored by a US company, anywhere in the world. 

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Giving the US government blanket access to your data might make you feel uneasy, and it should.

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Cybee is a Swiss company, and not subject to the US CLOUD Act. We are subject to Switzerland’s Federal Act on Data Protection, one of the strongest data privacy regimes in the world. FADP is specifically designed to protect access to data.

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Cybee is a Swiss vault for your data. Full data privacy, full data ownership, no compromises.

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Security and Privacy Are Not a Trade-Off

Small businesses shouldn’t have to choose between protecting your company and protecting your confidential data. "Either get robbed, or let strangers read your diary" is not a reasonable trade-off.

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With privacy-first EDR like Cybee, you get AI-driven behavioral detection, zero-day threat defense, and kernel-level visibility, all without surrendering your business’s digital secrets to a third-party vendor or a nosy government.
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It’s enterprise-grade protection without the enterprise-level complexity, or the invasive trade-offs.

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