Unleashing the Power of SIEM: How to Strengthen Your Organization's Security Posture

As a comprehensive approach to an organization’s security management, security information and event management (“SIEM”) combines security information management (“SIM”) and security event management (“SEM”) into a single solution. SIEM technology enables organizations to collect and analyze security-related data from multiple sources in real time to obtain a holistic picture of the organization's security posture.

SIEM technology provides organizations with specialized tools to identify, monitor and analyze security events, including potential threats and attacks. As a result, security teams can detect and respond to security incidents promptly and effectively because they have a centralized view of the organization's security posture. SIEM technology can also be used to meet compliance requirements, such as those mandated by regulations like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

Initiating the Process - Steps to Follow:

1. Data Collection: SIEM technology collects data from various sources, such as logs, network traffic and security devices
2. Data Aggregation: The collected data is aggregated in a central location, providing a holistic view of the organization's security posture.
3. Data Analysis: The aggregated data is analyzed in real time using techniques such as correlation, anomaly detection and behavioral analysis to identify potential threats and attacks.
4. Alert Generation: SIEM technology generates alerts when potential threats and attacks are detected, allowing security teams to respond quickly and effectively
5. Incident Response: The alerts generated by SIEM technology can trigger incident response workflows, enabling security teams to contain and remediate security incidents as quickly as possible.
6. Reporting: In addition to providing comprehensive reporting capabilities, SIEM tools also facilitate the identification of areas for improvement and help organizations demonstrate compliance.

Beneficial Importance: What SIEM Can Offer:

1. Real-Time Threat Detection and Response: A SIEM provides organizations with real-time detection and response to security incidents, reducing the likelihood of data breaches and other security incidents.
2. Compliance: SIEM technology can help organizations meet compliance requirements by providing comprehensive reporting capabilities.
3. Centralized Visibility: With SIEM technology, security teams are equipped with a consolidated view of their organizational security posture, allowing them to identify and respond to security incidents more efficiently.
4. Cost Savings: SIEM technology can help organizations reduce the cost of managing their security infrastructure by automating many security tasks
5. Improved Incident Response: SIEM technology allows organizations to mitigate the impact of security incidents on their organizations by responding more quickly and effectively.

During Deployment, Consider These Tips:

1.  Implement SIEM solutions in phases based on outputs. Depending on scope and use cases, develop requirements.
2. Develop expertise with the SIEM solution by iteratively onboarding use cases in an organized manner.
3. Ensure the data sources generate logs/events specific to security use cases through collaboration with line of business (“LOB”) owners and IT systems operators.
4. Develop an appropriate deployment architecture that addresses the specified use cases and enables future expansion, whether on-premise cybersecurity or in the cloud.

Remember, Your SIEM Needs to Be Continuously Updated

Security information and event management technologies are integral to any organization's security management plan.

SIEMs need to remain one step ahead of attackers because attack methods and techniques are constantly improving. Considering potential attacks and evaluating the SIEM's response is an important part of testing your SIEM on a regular basis. By simulating attacks, you can refine your SIEM configuration and stay ahead of malicious attackers by tweaking correlation rules, policies and procedures.

As a result of collecting and analyzing security-related data in real time, SIEM technology creates a comprehensive overview of an organization’s security posture, providing security teams with quick and effective response capabilities. Many benefits can be gained by utilizing SIEMs. You can improve threat detection and response, improve compliance, create centralized visibility, reduce costs and improve incident response.

Some of the available SIEM Solutions in the market:

• McAfee's SIEM solution consists of several components, with Enterprise Security Manager at its core. Additionally, the system is capable of managing logs over a long period of time and detecting anomalies.
•  A number of features are available within Exabeam's SIEM solution, which includes User and Entity Behavior Analytics (“UEBA”). In addition, this vendor includes a data lake, advanced analytics and a threat hunter among its other features.
• A subsidiary of Dell Technologies, RSA offers the Netwitness Platform, which is designed to acquire, send, store and analyze data. Additionally, RSA offers a security orchestration, automation and response (“SOAR”) solution.
• The QRadar Security Intelligence Platform is offered by IBM, which consists of IBM QRadar SIEM. This solution offers application visibility, user behavior analytics modules, forensic investigation and incident management capabilities.

A Key Takeaway of Using a SIEM in Your Organization.

An effective way to prevent security incidents is to install SIEM software. By using SIEM technology, you can detect threats in near-real time and help keep your organization compliant with regulatory standards. You can ease the implementation of a SIEM solution by following the practices summarized above and selecting the appropriate vendor for your company.