5 Things To Consider When Choosing an SIEM Provider
Tags: security
Published: 2022-11-22 05:47:35

Imagine having an alarm clock that goes off every two minutes. There could be nothing more annoying than that, right? You are constantly disturbed, can’t focus on other tasks, and can’t differentiate between all the noise. Security systems without properly configured SIEM solutions lead to similar chaos.  

[Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)](https://www.acecloudhosting.com/blog/what-is-siem/
) solutions streamline and analyze all security events and logs from your entire network. With deep visibility and real-time prioritization of security events, your team can quickly respond to threats and ensure minimal damage.  

## Why Should You Get a SIEM Solution? 

[SIEM solutions](https://www.acecloudhosting.com/managed-siem-security/) play a central role in a comprehensive security posture. In a way, the solution holds together the entire security system. It aggregates data from multiple sources across your network and generates relevant alerts.  

There are significant benefits to having a SIEM solution. When configured and fine-tuned properly, SIEM solutions enhance cybersecurity in the following ways: 

1. Reduces threat identification and response time for security teams, thereby minimizing the potential damage from those threats.  

2. Offers in-depth and holistic visibility of an organization’s entire IT system, making it easier to obtain and analyze behavioral data. 
 
3. Collates and stores log information in a central repository, thereby making all data instantly accessible.  
 
4. Performs detailed forensic analysis and post-breach investigation in case of an event.  
 
5. Sheds light on network dark spots and ensures no dormant threats lurk and laterally move within the network.  

6. Improves regulatory compliance management by ensuring secure data logging and enabling an easy attestation process.
  

## 5 Criteria to Keep in Mind When Choosing SIEM  

SIEM is not a solution you buy on a whim. It’s a significant investment and has a long buying process. If you’re going to invest as much money and time into procuring a solution, you better make sure what you’re buying covers all your bases.  

Here are the five essential points you need to keep in mind when choosing a SIEM solution: 

1. Real-time monitoring, analytics, and alerting capabilities 

A SIEM solution driven by real-time analytics is way more efficient than legacy SIEMs. Real-time monitoring and alerting increase the efficiency and efficacy of security teams in many ways: 

Provide context-based alerts which help in formulating effective response plans 

Include lessons from threat hunting and global threat intelligence feeds 

The capability of monitoring and correlating threats in real-time is the turning point in the battle against new-age dynamic attacks. It could be the reason you evade a crippling attack, costly damages, and severe system disruptions.  

Attacks move fast and with stealth. Your security team needs to move faster and be constantly alert. For that, you need a SIEM solution with real-time monitoring, analytical, and alerting capabilities.  

2. Integration with native log sources  

A SIEM solution is useless if it cannot receive and comprehend security event data from all existing log-generating sources within the organizational network. Essentially, the SIEM solution needs to integrate with core security controls like:  

- Firewalls 
- Endpoint security solutions like EDR  
- Virtual private networks (VPN) 
- Email gateways 
- DNS filter and web security gateways 
- Intrusion prevention systems (IPS) 
- Antimalware solutions
 

It is a reasonable expectation that the SIEM solution you choose will possess the capability to natively understand and analyze log files sent by significant products and cloud-based solutions within these categories. If it does not, it adds very little value to your existing security infrastructure.  

3. Relevant use case investigations 

You can only leverage the full potential of your SIEM solution if you take the time to build relevant use cases. For that, you must first conduct a thorough internal investigation into what you want to achieve from the SIEM solution. Common SIEM use cases are: 

- Detecting insider threats and monitoring user activity 
- Identifying privileged access abuse 
- Maintaining and securing IoT devices  
- Spotting trusted entity compromise  
- Managing critical compliance regulations like HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR  
Before committing to a SIEM solution, ensure it features a compatible ecosystem, enables user configurations, and supports your unique use cases. The SIEM solution should utilize relevant historical data and conduct comprehensive forensic analysis that promotes efficient use case management.  

4. Scalability and cloud support 

You need an agile SIEM solution if you have a growing and dynamic business. The problem with legacy SIEM solutions and on-premises deployments is the bulk. Some forms of SIEM deployment require a lot of hardware installation. In such cases, getting the solution up and running can take around six months.  

Modern businesses operating in rapidly changing markets cannot afford bulky SIEM solutions. You need a SIEM that deploys in minimal time and can accommodate an expanding IT environment.  

Look into cloud SIEM, also called managed SIEM. New-age SIEM deployment leverages cloud elasticity, flexible data storage, and data lakes. They are far more scalable than on-premises SIEM deployment and can handle the massive data volume generated by large enterprises.  

5. Audit of internal capabilities  

The most significant deciding factor when to choosing a SIEM solution is figuring out the deployment model. Should you choose on-premises deployment or managed SIEM? We’ve already covered how managed SIEM provides the advantage of scalability and cloud support. But there are points to consider as well within this decision.  

Does your organization have the time, money, and expertise to opt for an on-premises SIEM? While on-premises deployment will give you complete control over the solution, it will also be a much larger investment, take a lot longer to implement, and require a team of skilled security experts.  

On the other hand, managed SIEM’s cloud-based deployment offers minimized costs, instant scalability, access to skilled professionals, and easy customization. The choice is yours.  

## In a Nutshell 

The first step in choosing a SIEM solution is conducting an in-depth analysis of your organization’s needs, objectives, and internal capabilities. Post that, you can leverage the pointers mentioned above to analyze various SIEM providers and choose the best fit.  

If the multiple advantages of managed SIEM solutions interest you, you should explore Ace Managed SIEM. It’s an advanced, new-age security solution that provides real-time alerts, actionable threat intelligence, in-depth forensic analysis, comprehensive reporting, and compliance management.  With a 24/7/365 security operations center at your disposal, Ace equips your organizational network with a centralized platform and an AI-enabled dashboard for full-spectrum visibility.  

[Take a free trial today!](https://www.acecloudhosting.com/managed-security-services/)