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Security information and event management (SIEM) is a solution for threat detection, risk prevention, and cyber security best practices. With the cost of security breaches sitting at over $6 trillion annually, new cyberattack methods, and security tools are constantly evolving. Learn how SIEM works, its benefits, and what to look for in a modern SIEM solution.
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SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management. It’s security software that aggregates logs and event data generated by all users, servers, networking devices, and firewalls in order to monitor and analyze all security-related events in an organization’s infrastructure.
SIEM combines Security Information Management (SIM) and Security Event Management (SEM) into one security management system. These terms are also often used interchangeably.
Security information management (SIM) focuses on collecting, aggregating, and reporting on log data with a priority on log collection and management for storage, compliance, and analysis. This system helps in compliance reporting and forensic investigations.
Security event management (SEM) focuses on real-time monitoring, alerting, threat detection, and tracking security events. It is essential for identifying advanced threats and ensuring timely incident responses.
Modern SIEM systems also incorporate advanced features such as entity behavior analytics, threat intelligence, and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR), to enhance their threat detection and incident management capabilities.
These features allow for more sophisticated analysis and faster response times, improving overall effectiveness in response to cyberattacks, and in meeting compliance requirements.
SIEM collects event logs and log data generated by all data sources: users, servers, networking devices, IPs, applications, and firewalls into one centralized system. This consolidation allows for the identifying and categorizing of these event logs for the purpose of real-time monitoring and analysis.
Event logs record all activities, errors, information messages, and warnings, including everything from failed logins to malware activity.
By gaining full observability across an organization’s infrastructure, SIEM can detect incidents, user activity, and potential threats.
For example, if a single user account has multiple failed login attempts within a short period, SIEM triggers an alert, notifying the security team of a potential brute-force attack. The security team can quickly investigate and determine whether the account was compromised. They can also reset the account credentials, prevent further unauthorized access, and analyze the attack to improve future defenses.
Here is a step-by-step process showing how SIEM works:
The first step in the SIEM process is collecting event data generated by various sources across an organization’s infrastructure. These include host systems, security devices, applications, users, servers, networking devices, IPs, and firewalls. The data is aggregated into a centralized platform for further processing.
SIEM collects data in real time, which is crucial for timely detection of potential threats. The collected data includes a wide array of log types, such as:
Each log entry provides valuable context about activities within an IT environment. The SIEM system collects this data using connectors and agents, and normalizes it into a common format for easier analysis.
In addition to collecting logs, the SIEM system also handles event sourcing. This involves capturing changes and updates from various security tools and devices. This ensures that the SIEM has the latest information to analyze and correlate.
The SIEM software then detects and categorizes the data so that it can easily recognize security incidents and events (malware, security attacks, password resets, unauthorized access).
This is achieved through:
By efficiently matching logs and events generated by multiple sources, resolving duplicates, and filtering out false positives, the SIEM system ensures that security incidents are detected promptly and accurately.
Advanced SIEM systems use machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve their threat detection capabilities. These technologies can analyze historical data to more accurately identify anomalies and potential threats. They can also adapt to new and evolving threats, improving the organization's overall security systems.
After detecting and categorizing potential threats, the SIEM system generates real-time alerts to notify security teams of any suspicious activities or security incidents. SIEM solutions also feature a dashboard interface for notifications, alerts, and reports that are made available depending on conditions, rules, and events.
Alerts are categorized by severity levels, from low to critical, indicating the potential impact and urgency of the threat.
Security operations teams use these alerts to take the required action, and also rely on the SIEM’s analysis and reporting capabilities to learn and make their systems more secure.
Modern SIEM tools go beyond simple log data to advanced analytics, in order to help users stay ahead of threats, risks, and attackers. These systems use artificial intelligence and machine learning to proactively address potential security issues.
SIEM’s advanced analytics features enable the identification of complex threat patterns, anomalies, and unusual user behavior that might go unnoticed with legacy systems. They provide predictive threat intelligence that helps security teams anticipate and mitigate risks before they become serious indicators.
SIEM solutions also generate real-time compliance reports for standards like PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX.
Legacy SIEM offerings assumed all enterprise infrastructure was hosted within the company. However, with the shift to cloud, multi-cloud, and hybrid cloud infrastructures, modern SIEM solutions function across any infrastructure with full flexibility. This ensures comprehensive security monitoring and threat detection, regardless of where the data is stored.
With the right data collected across the organization, possible security threats can be flagged and actioned before breaches happen. SIEM enhances threat detection, and minimizes false positives, helping companies be prepared.
When incidents do happen, data, event and activity correlation provide lessons and learnings that can be fed back into the SIEM solutions for better prevention of future breaches.
The first step in resolving a security incident is to be alerted as soon as possible, and to then respond quickly. SIEM solutions enable IT departments to detect fraudulent and anomalous behavior in real time across the organization, facilitating rapid incident response and minimizing damage.
SIEM tools aggregate and analyze logs and events from all devices, users, applications, and servers, surfacing issues more quickly and allowing organizations to focus on their work without fear of intruders and breaches. Effective log and event management also support compliance and forensics investigations.
Organizations must adhere to various regulations and compliances to keep certain information private and protected. Other regulations require tracking of who has access and when. SIEM solutions help organizations gain both real-time and historical views of access to data, and stay compliant with standards such as PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, etc.
Security incidents can cause significant damage in a short period of time. SIEM solutions provide actionable real-time alerts to the right people across departments, which enables them to play an active role in isolating, containing, and stopping incidents. This rapid response capability benefits the entire organization by minimizing the impact of security threats.
When different parts of the business have the same access and visibility to data, cooperation toward corporate-wide goals of security and compliance improves. SIEM tools facilitate better communication and collaboration that enhances the overall security management system.
Security breaches can cost companies millions of dollars. By prioritizing SIEM solutions, IT organizations can prevent security incidents and reduce downtime, allowing the organization to focus on revenue-generating goals. Efficient security management not only protects assets but also contributes to the financial stability and growth of the organization.
Here are the best practices to follow when implementing an SIEM solution in your organization:
Set clear goals, such as compliance reporting, real-time threat detection, or incident response.
Identify data sources, including servers, networking devices, applications, and firewalls, and understand the types of logs and event data they generate.
Consider scalability, ease of use, compatibility with existing systems, and support for both on-premises and cloud deployments.
Start with critical systems and high-priority data sources first.
Implement data validation and normalization processes to maintain accurate, complete, and timely data.
Minimize false positives by defining rules and thresholds based on specific security policies, and by regularly reviewing and adjusting settings.
Enhance security by integrating SIEM with intrusion detection systems, endpoint protection platforms, and threat intelligence feeds.
Provide comprehensive training on interpreting alerts, conducting investigations, and responding to incidents.
Maintain accessible documentation of SIEM processes, configurations, and incident response procedures, and communicate them to relevant stakeholders for consistency and reference.
Cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly advanced and persistent, and require more effort from security analysts to sift through their numerous alerts and incidents. Real-time data is the only way to mitigate risks efficiently.
Confluent's data streaming platform combines the best real-time streaming data infrastructure and your cybersecurity platforms to break down silos, deliver contextually rich data, and reduce time to threat detection and resolution.