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The Case for Upgrading to SentinelOne Singularity™ Complete

Introduction

Many organizations begin their endpoint security journey with SentinelOne Singularity™ Core, a powerful and modern AI replacement for traditional antivirus solutions. However, when it comes to operating or integrating with a Security Operations Center (SOC), it lacks critical features necessary for advanced threat detection, investigation, and response.

This document outlines the key differences between SentinelOne Singularity™ Core and Complete, focusing on the capabilities required for SOC operations and proactive threat management.

Singularity™ Core

About

Singularity™ Core is SentinelOne’s foundational Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), offering automated and AI-driven defense against malware, ransomware, and fileless attacks. Key features include:

  • AI-Powered Prevention & Detection: Real-time blocking of threats using static and behavioral AI engines.
  • Automated Response: Automatically kills malicious processes, quarantines files, and offers rollback (Windows only).
  • Basic EDR: Provides essential visibility and telemetry for endpoint detection and response.
  • Cross-Platform Support: Protects Windows, macOS, and Linux environments.

Who It’s For

Organizations seeking strong, automated endpoint protection without the need for deep forensic capabilities or a dedicated SOC.

Limitations in a SOC Context

While Singularity™ Core is excellent for autonomous prevention, it lacks the detailed telemetry and forensic depth required by security analysts to perform:

  • Proactive threat hunting
  • Custom threat detection and mitigation
  • In-depth investigations
  • Long-term data analysis

Singularity™ Complete

About

Singularity™ Complete expands upon Singularity™ Core, introducing robust capabilities tailored for SOC analysts and incident responders, incorporating all the functionalities of both Core and Control, plus additional features.

SOC Features

  1. Deep Visibility (ActiveEDR): This is the single most important distinction. Singularity™ Complete provides comprehensive endpoint telemetry. Every process, file modification, network connection, and registry change is recorded and queryable. This depth is essential for:

    • Uncovering hidden threats
    • Understanding the full scope and context of an attack
    • Supporting compliance and audit requirements

  2. Storyline™ Technology: All endpoint activity is automatically connected into a visual storyline, simplifying root cause analysis. Analysts no longer need to manually correlate events. Singularity™ Complete does it for them, dramatically reducing the investigation time.

  3. STAR (Storyline™ Active Response) Rules: Custom detection rules (STAR rules) are only available in Singularity™ Complete and depend entirely on the Deep Visibility dataset, which is not available in Singularity™ Core. These rules allow your team or SOC to:

    • Write custom alerts for suspicious behavior (e.g., PowerShell abuse, credential access attempts).
    • Link DNS security to process controls.
    • Automate detection of known threats unique to specific environments.
    • Implement organization-specific threat hunting logic.

  4. Advanced Threat Hunting Tools: Singularity™ Complete includes an advanced query engine compatible with the MITRE ATT&CK® framework, allowing security professionals to proactively search for adversary behaviors across the network.

  5. Extended Data Retention: Depending on the configuration, Singularity™ Complete retains endpoint telemetry for 14 days to over a year. This is essential for forensic investigations, incident response, and regulatory compliance.

Summary

Features Singularity™ Core Singularity™ Complete
Protection Type AI-powered prevention and detection (EPP) All Core features + advanced EDR, threat hunting, and response
Automated Threat Response Kill processes, quarantine files, rollback (Windows only) Includes all Core response capabilities
Endpoint Detection & Response Basic EDR Advanced EDR with full telemetry
Deep Visibility (ActiveEDR) Not available Full visibility into all endpoint activities
Storyline™ Technology Not available Visual context of attack chains, automatic correlation of events
Custom Detection Rules Not supported (no telemetry for rules to query) Create custom rules for detection and threat hunting
Threat Hunting Capabilities Limited, not suitable for SOC Proactive hunting using detailed queries and MITRE ATT&CK® integration
Data Retention Short-term / basic Extended (14+ days up to 365+ days), ideal for forensics and compliance
Best For Organizations replacing legacy antivirus without a dedicated security team Enterprises with security teams requiring full visibility and proactive defense
SOC Compatibility Insufficient visibility and tools for SOC workflows Designed for SOC use: investigation, hunting, forensics, and response

Conclusion

Singularity™ Core provides excellent autonomous protection, but falls short in the visibility and flexibility needed by a SOC. For organizations leveraging a Security Operations Center or working with a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service, Singularity™ Complete is not optional, it’s essential. If your goal is true endpoint resilience, supported by expert-led detection and response, upgrading to Singularity™ Complete is the next critical step.