What is SIEM?
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a software solution that centralises security data collection, analysis, and reporting. It acts as a nerve centre for an organisation’s security posture, providing a holistic view of security events across IT infrastructure. SIEM aggregates log data from various sources, including firewalls, servers, applications and endpoints, allowing security teams to identify suspicious activity, investigate potential incidents and respond to threats effectively.
Benefits of SIEM_
- Improved threat detection: SIEM correlates data from multiple sources to identify patterns and anomalies that might indicate a security breach. This helps organisations detect threats faster and more efficiently.
- Enhanced incident response: SIEM provides a central repository of security data, allowing security teams to quickly gather evidence, identify the scope of an incident and expedite remediation efforts.
- Streamlined security operations: SIEM automates many manual tasks associated with security monitoring, freeing up security personnel to focus on strategic initiatives.
- Compliance management: SIEM can help organisations meet regulatory compliance requirements by providing audit trails and facilitating reporting on security events.
Use cases_
- Security monitoring and event correlation: SIEM continuously monitors security events from various sources and identifies potential threats based on predefined rules or machine learning algorithms.
- Incident investigation and forensics: In the event of a suspected breach, SIEM provides the data and tools to investigate the incident, determine the root cause and take corrective action.
- Security compliance reporting: SIEM helps organizations generate reports on security events and demonstrate compliance with relevant security regulations.
- User behaviour analytics (UBA): Advanced SIEM solutions can analyse user behaviour patterns to identify potential insider threats or compromised accounts.
Key components_
- Log collection: SIEM collects security logs from various devices and applications on the network.
- Log parsing and normalisation: SIEM parses and normalises log data into a common format for easier analysis and correlation.
- Event correlation: SIEM analyses collected logs for suspicious activity based on predefined rules or threat intelligence feeds.
- Security dashboard: SIEM offers a centralised dashboard for security teams to visualise security events, investigate incidents, and monitor security posture.
Microsoft offers Azure Sentinel, a cloud-native SIEM solution that integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security services like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Azure Sentinel leverages the power of Azure for advanced analytics, threat intelligence and scalability, providing a robust and cost-effective SIEM solution for organisations of all sizes.
