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History of SIEM
Originally developed from log management the set of procedures and guidelines used to oversee the creation, transfer, analysis, archiving, storage, and disposal of massive amounts of log data generated inside an information system SIEM technology has been around since the middle of the 2000s.
The term SIEM was first used by analysts at Gartner Inc. in their 2005 paper, “Improve IT Security with Vulnerability Management.” A new security information system based on SIM and SEM was suggested by the experts in the paper.
Long-term storage analysis and reporting on log data were introduced by SIM, which was built on top of legacy log collecting management systems. Threat intelligence and logs were also incorporated by SIM. Finding, gathering, tracking, and reporting security-related incidents in software, systems, or IT infrastructure were the focus of SEM.
SIEM was formed by merging SIM, which gathers, analyses, and publishes log data, with SEM, which analyses log and event data in real time for threat monitoring, event correlation, and incident response.
SIEM has become more advanced and comprehensive. In order to lower risk in an organisation, new technologies were introduced, such as the use of AI and machine learning to assist systems correctly identify abnormalities. SIEM products with these cutting-edge characteristics eventually began to be referred to as next-generation SIEM.
What Is SIEM?
As the first line of defense between an organisation and malevolent digital threats, a security operations center (SOC) must rely on a variety of technologies to monitor, manage, and regulate a digital environment. Although it may have a number of strong hardware and software tools in its toolbox, few are as essential as a security information and event management (SIEM) system.
Security information and event management (SIEM) software packages can help security analysts in a SOC team become better monitors. It integrates security information management (SIM) and security event management (SEM) into a single, comprehensive system that may operate on-premises or in the cloud.
Through the identification of possible security threats and the disclosure of security perimeter flaws before they can be exploited, SIEM technologies sort through data and turn it into actionable insights.
Strong defenses like this enable security teams to take action instead of just responding. This may help firms avoid data breach costs including lost income, penalties, fees, and brand harm.
SIEM may do numerous of jobs, but its main functions are as follows:
- Proactively identifies advanced threats and unusual behavior and gives visibility and control over all of the assets in an organization’s environment.
- Increases the severity of security warnings so the SOC may take prompt action to reduce or eliminate any possible threats.
Why Is SIEM Important?
- SIEM systems track and log security data, which is essential for compliance and auditing reasons, and offer real-time monitoring and analysis of security occurrences.
- There are probably mountains of data in even a tiny business. Businesses may more easily manage and go through that data and rank any security risks with the help of this automatic response tool.
- SIEM has the ability to identify dangers that could have gone undiscovered otherwise, giving them the opportunity to covertly breach your security measures.
- In other words, a threat may do less harm the sooner you recognize it. Because it significantly lowers the mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) to sophisticated persistent threats, a SIEM solution is essential.
How does SIEM works?
- SIEM technologies collect log and event data produced by host systems throughout an organization’s infrastructure and aggregate it on a single platform. Applications, firewalls, security equipment, and antivirus filters are examples of host systems. SIEM solutions detect and classify data into categories including malware activity, successful and unsuccessful logins, and other potentially harmful behavior.
- When the SIEM software detects possible security threats, it sends out security notifications. Organizations can assign a low or high priority to these warnings by using a set of predetermined guidelines.
- For example, because the login attempts were likely done by a user who had forgotten their login credentials, a user account that creates 25 unsuccessful login attempts in 25 minutes may be reported as suspicious but still be given a lower priority.
- However, since it’s most certainly a brute-force assault in action, a user account that generates 130 unsuccessful login attempts in five minutes would be marked as a high-priority event.
SIEM features and capabilities
When assessing SIEM products, the following features are crucial to take into account:
Data aggregation
Applications, networks, servers, and databases all provide data that is gathered and tracked.
Correlation
Correlation is the process by which a SIEM tool finds common qualities between several events; it is usually a component of SEM.
Dashboards
Applications, databases, networks, and servers provide data that is gathered and aggregated before being shown in charts to assist identify trends and prevent important events from being missed.
Warning
SIEM technologies can alert users in the event that a security problem is discovered.
Automation
Automated features like automated incident responses and automated security incident analysis may also be included in certain SIEM software.