What Does SIEM Stand For in Cyber Security?
In today’s digital age, cybersecurity is crucial. One way to safeguard your systems is by implementing a robust security platform like Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). In this blog, we will explore what SIEM is, how it works, its benefits, and whether it is right for your business.
Introduction
( Source: Simplilearn)
With the rapid advancements in technology, the internet has become an indispensable tool that enables people to perform a wide range of tasks within a matter of seconds. However, as with any technology, there are also challenges that come with it. Unfortunately, cyber-attacks have become so commonplace that they no longer come as a shock. In the second quarter of 2022, there were approximately 52 million reports of data breaches, which is a decrease of 56% from the previous quarter. Although this comes as a relief, it’s worth noting that 2020 still holds the record for the highest number of data breaches, with nearly 125 million cases. It’s important to be aware of these risks and take appropriate measures to protect oneself from cyber threats.
Security incidents, such as regular break-ins and data breaches, have unfortunately become a common occurrence. Virtual attacks can be devastating, causing significant harm to your business in less than a second. The worst part is that you or your employees could be the reason behind a breach or tampered data if your company has inefficient security measures in place. Simply clicking on a random or suspicious link or email can invite attackers into your company’s network. However, implementing a robust security platform like SIEM can help you avoid these risks. SIEM solution can effectively respond to all threats and detect danger before it becomes a problem.
Learn what SIEM is, how it works, its benefits for organizations, and whether you should use it.
SIEM cyber security meaning
So what exactly is SIEM security definition?
SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management. It is a system that helps organizations detect vulnerabilities and security breaches that could affect their servers. SIEM tools provide a centralized location to gather events and data from servers, network devices, domain controllers, and other sources. This makes it easy to access the information when needed.
SIEM is an effective data orchestration system that manages evolving threats and neutralizes them. Manually searching for potential harm across the entire organization’s digital framework can be exhausting and overwhelming. SIEM analyzes activities and information and sends alerts to the security team if it detects any suspicious activity. With the help of AI and machine learning, it offers advanced user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA).
How does a SIEM work (SIEM capabilities)
SIEM, using three core functions namely – Event correlation, log management, and Incident monitoring collects data from servers and analyzes it to provide a holistic view of a company’s IT. It investigates and mitigates suspicious activities, ensuring an efficient security system.
- It collects data from networks, servers, devices, etc.
- After collecting the data from various networks and servers, SIEM aggregates them.
- Then it analyzes the data for anomalies, threats, or trends.
- After SIEM detects data for threats and anomalies, it investigates them, identifies the dangers, and takes immediate action to protect the networks, servers, and devices.
- SIEM performs real-time analysis to detect threats and anomalies. This saves time and effort. It also ensures that all future threats that follow the same trend are dealt with. After threat detection, it provides an appropriate solution to keep the system safe.
- SIEM is a search and report system that searches for threats and generates reports after taking action against them.
Why is SIEM important?
SIEM collects data from networks, devices, servers, and domains and analyses them to detect threats against the system, investigate them, and provide appropriate and accurate solutions.
1. Easy security management
It is challenging to manage the entire system’s security. You can simplify the process by filtering millions of data within seconds and prioritizing the security alerts generated by the software using the SIEM solution. It allows the integration of risk assessment services and aids the security team in determining the nature and impact of an attack on your business.
2. Detecting threats
The lack of a proper security platform permits unauthorized external users to enter the company’s network unnoticed. Besides adversely impacting your reputation, it exposes you to regular security incidents. SIEM performs a thorough detection process and alerts the security team in real-time in case of an unknown user or activity in the system. It further allows you to take adequate provisions to deal with the threat.
3. Regulation of compliances
Organizations must adhere to some rules and compliance frameworks, like HIPAA, to stay in the market for the long run. But it is arduous to implement a security structure that follows the set rules and ethics and avails you of retrieving the log data quickly. However, the SIEM solution allows you to generate reports about the logged security events while meeting the compliances.
4. Data Intelligence
SIEM tools assist in resolving the underlying threats and detecting any future risks. It provides the security team with relevant insights through computer software and aggregated databases. With the implementation of data intelligence, SIEM offers your IT team several additional features such as system access management, quick data encryption, quality management services, SSO integration, etc.
Benefits of SIEM to an organization?
Regardless of the success of your enterprise, taking necessary steps to monitor and remediate IT security threats is essential. Solutions provided by SIEM are beneficial and can become a significant asset. Some of the benefits include:
Advanced real-time threat identification
With its extensive tools, SIEM analyzes the data collected on the organization’s server in real time. Identifying and providing solutions for potential security threats and anomalies takes relatively less time. This helps organizations strengthen the system’s security.
Flexible and adaptable
Organizations produce data in large volumes. Big data structures are required to store this sheer amount of data and ensure its availability at all times. Therefore, companies look for flexible, scalable, and adaptable frameworks to retain data securely. Present-day SIEMs can deploy in the cloud or on-premises virtual environments and efficiently handle complex implementations.
Automated threat detection
SIEM frees the analysts and security team from engaging in manual tasks. It utilizes machine learning and performs automated threat detections regularly to locate any danger. It helps gain better insights into the security system by providing enhanced context, threat intelligence, and user behavior.
Enhances situational awareness
The landscape of cyber security changes very quickly. Cyber attacks are becoming more efficient with well-planned strategies. As a result, organizations rely on solutions that can accurately analyze, detect, and provide solutions for unknown threats. SIEM uses threat intelligence tools and AI technology to detect unknown threats and security breaches instantly.
SIEM implementation best practices
1. Define Objectives
Security teams need to clearly define their objective whether its compliance reporting or overall risk management.
2. Strategic information collection
Utilizing SIEM technology to aggregate security event from various systems and applications.
3. Integrating cloud security
Ensuring that the SIEM system is well integrated with a cloud security solution for the collection of logs from a cloud environment.
4. Advanced Analytics
Leverage SIEM capabilities within the system to detect abnormalities, identify patterns & prioritize security events effectively.
5. Risk Management Focus
SIEM implementation should always align the organization’s risk management strategy & focus to mitigate the cyber risk that can impact the operations of businesses.
6. Compliance Requirements
Should always support compliance auditing functions to meet compliance standards.
7. Managed security Service Provider (MSSP) Engagement
Partner with a managed service provider streamlining implementation, management & continuous monitoring.
8. Long Term Scalability
Selecting SIEM software that can account for the organization’s growth & evolving security needs.
9. Industry Data security measures
Application of robust data security measures within the SIEM system to protect sensitive personal information & maintain confidentiality, availability and integrity.
10. Continuous Improvement
It Should involve continuous improvement, including regular tuning, updating the threat landscape, and refining detection rules.
The Future of SIEM
Cloud native architectures are playing an important role in shaping its future, enabling flawless amalgamation with diverse data sources and handling a large amount of event data.
The operations center will be taking benefits of these advancements to effectively monitor digital assets & retrieve actionable insights from security data to proactively reduce threats.
As information management becomes more streamlined, SIEM will evolve to a greater height offering greater visibility & agility in cybersecurity operations. In addition, it will also ensure robust protection across complex and dynamic environments.
How can NewEvol help your company?
Security breaches and threats come as a free package when you are in the corporate world. It does not matter whether you own a small firm or run a large company; risk is always there. You cannot stop hackers or cyber criminals from performing their terrifying and unlawful attacks. But, you certainly can prevent them from affecting your organization.
NewEvol offers efficient platforms to enhance your security team to face any challenge without any issues. Our nextgen SIEM security solutions provides insights into any suspicious activity and assists companies in detecting the threats instantly to take predictive actions.
SIEM accompanies various features to gear up your security management. For instance,
- It handles several threats proficiently and accurately at the same time.
- It is active day and night and gives you continuous updates regarding your business’s security 24×7.
- SIEM is built using a big data platform, making it capable of executing powerful analytics.
Besides the positive features it possesses, SIEM guarantees to offer multiple benefits to your organization, like,
- SIEM alerts the SOC team whenever a risk is identified, thus saving your team’s time and effort.
- It locates the threats and builds a correlation between them. It helps the security team to detect and recognize the threats faster.
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