Explaining Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
By: John Teehan
Tags: Tech, Business, Cybersecurity, Security, Technology

Explaining Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Stopping cyberattacks before they happen.

Image courtesy blush.design.

Essential parts of maintaining an effective cybersecurity practice include keeping track of account usage, network activity, and commercial transactions. By conducting comprehensive tracking and maintaining logs, a sharp network administrator should be able to detect problems and threats as they happen and from where. Once an incident has been identified, they can take the steps necessary to minimize or block unauthorized usage and potential cyberattacks before either has a chance to disrupt or damage the network, thus protecting businesses from grave dangers.

As the number of threats to data centers and networks grows, so does the necessity for monitoring, detecting, and responding to these threats. Cybercriminals know of many paths into your business network. That’s why it’s important to be in a position to monitor activity across a multitude of devices and networks and be able to respond quickly and decisively.

This is where security information and event management (SIEM) enters the game.

Defining security information and event management

SIEM combines security information management (SIM) and security event management (SEM) into a single cooperative security management system. Information from various sources is gathered and examined following rules-based and statistical protocols. Sophisticated user behavior analytics and machine learning can detect and respond to flagged activity more efficiently.

Banks were among the first to adopt SIEM as a way to remain compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Suppose a debit card owned by a person living in California suddenly started showing activity occurring in downtown Madrid. In that case, that could raise a red flag in the security information management part of the SIEM system. This would trigger a response in the security event management portion by temporarily blocking the debit card until it could determine whether the card use is valid.

As SIEM has developed and evolved, overall security has only improved with less risk for customer inconvenience. This results in more confidence in businesses taking advantage of an effective SIEM system.

Image courtesy blush.design.

The benefits of SIEM for business

Detection

Smart businesses use various tools to keep unauthorized network activity at bay ranging from password protection protocols to strong firewalls. Many companies already use rudimentary logging functions that can spot suspicious activity, automate user warnings, and block unauthorized access.

Is it enough?

A SIEM system tacks on additional layers of detection and can detect correlating events across numerous hosts or devices, analyze them, and determine what kind of attack occurred and whether or not it was successful.

Response

With a SIEM system in place, what then happens should unauthorized use or open cyberattacks occur? Using rules-based protocols and machine learning analytics, the SIEM system can determine if a flagged activity needs a response and subsequently block said action to stop any damage before it can become too severe.

Not only does this incident response halt attacks while in progress, but it can examine the activity logs and follow the attack back to its source. This process can uncover whether the culprit is a piece of malware on a local desktop device or a hacker half a world away. An effective SIEM setup will analyze and determine what hosts or devices were affected by the attack and wall-off any host or device that might have been compromised.

Reporting

Regulatory compliance is a significant concern for businesses involved in the financial and healthcare industries. Whether it’s PCS DSS requirements or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), failing to secure your network and protect client data adequately can result in severe financial penalties, loss of customer confidence, and legal prosecution.

The good news is that SIEM tools often include built-in support for most regulatory compliance requirements. One of the more useful tools in a SIEM system is collecting information from a range of operating systems, applications, and devices. What’s more, comprehensive security logs save resources and time when it comes to reporting. This is particularly useful when meeting multiple compliance requirements.

Image courtesy blush.design.

A sensible solution for everyone involved

SIEM tools give businesses to get a more comprehensive view of their network and IT security in action. By integrating activity logs and smart cyber-attack monitoring with effective response management, business networks can become better shielded from the rising worldwide tide of new and evolving cyber threats.

Want to protect your business and your clients? Consider how SIEM tools could provide a working, streamlined solution to your business’s network security. Once you have an effective system in place, you’re then in a better and more confident position to concentrate on developing your business.