What is Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)?

What is SIEM?

Security is an issue that concerns the business areas and the IT team, especially when we are daily exposed to cyber attacks from any device (endpoints), given the digitization of business, and the fact that not only the continuity of operations is at stake, but also the customer’s trust and the reputation of the organization. To get an idea of its impact worldwide, according to Techopedia, in 2023, 2,244 attacks per day were recorded. Throughout 2022, data breaches cost an average of $4.35 million and the average cost of breaches resulting from stolen or compromised credentials reached $4.5 million.
To counter these security incidents, there are tools and processes that can help your team detect, counter and prevent them, such as SIEM.

Definition of SIEM and its relevance to cybersecurity today

SIEM is the acronym for Security Incident and Event Management, which is the process of identifying, monitoring, recording and analyzing security events or incidents within an IT environment in real time. It is based on a comprehensive and centralized view of the security scenario of an IT infrastructure.
Today, this type of management is valuable as it is implemented via systems, software and tools to detect events or incidents based on the following attributes:

• Retention: Storing data to be able to make decisions from more complete data sets.
• Dashboards: Analyze and visualize data to recognize patterns or identify anomalies in activities.
• Correlation: Sorting data into packages that are meaningful, similar and share common features to convert those data into useful information.
• Alerts: By collecting or identifying data that triggers certain responses (such as alerts or potential security issues), SIEM tools can trigger alerting protocols to users (in dashboard notifications, an automated email or text message).
• Data aggregation: Collecting data from various sites (servers, networks, databases, software and email systems) once it is entered into SIEM. This consolidation contributes to correlation or storage for further findings and, from there, making security decisions.

Another very important attribute of SIEM is regulatory compliance. Companies are undertaking ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policies, seeking to achieve sustainability through a social, environmental and governance commitment, without ever neglecting the financial aspects. SIEM also contributes to these objectives, as protocols can be established in a SIEM to automatically collect the necessary data for compliance with company, organization or governance policies.

Historical Context: The origin of the concept by Gartner in 2005

An ICT industry analyst firm, Gartner, coined the SIEM concept in 2005 in its report Improve IT Security with Vulnerability Management. This term was built on the basis of two existing concepts: Security Information Management (SIM), which deals with the collection, storage and analysis of log data, and Security Event Management (SEM), which deals with real-time monitoring, event correlation and security event notifications. It is clear that SIEM, from its conception, gained traction for event management in equipment and network security and infrastructure monitoring from the benefits of having centralized log management and threat intelligence.

How does a SIEM work?

To understand how it works, a SIEM system aggregates event data produced by security devices, network infrastructure, systems and applications. The primary source of data is logs, although other forms of data, such as network telemetry, can also be processed. This event data is collected in real time and can be standardized for analysis for specific purposes such as network security event monitoring, user activity monitoring and compliance reporting, and combined with more contextual information about users, assets, threats and vulnerabilities. Also, SIEM makes use of advanced data analytics algorithms, which allows identifying patterns and correlations in the collected data, so that security analysts can detect and respond to cyber threats faster and more efficiently, as well as identify patterns to take preventive actions and improve security levels. In short, SIEM collects data, correlates events and provides the elements for incident response.

• Data collection: SIEM collects event data from various sources in the enterprise network. The most common sources are: data from any device under BYOD(Bring Your Own Device) policy, data streams from users, applications, even cloud environments and networks. All of these are “sensitive real-time data streams” or sensitive real-time data streams, as there is transmission and processing of data that is critical and requires protection due to its confidential or sensitive nature. This data is generated and transmitted continuously, so its improper exposure or manipulation could cause significant damage to the company’s operation and even its reputation.
• Correlation of events: With SIEM, it is possible to identify and perform advanced analysis to identify patterns and make correlations through predefined rules. For security strategists, event correlation is of great value to their team as it provides information to locate or mitigate security threats. You can also automate tasks associated with the in-depth analysis of security events, which reduces your team’s response time to an incident.
• Incident response: Using a SIEM system, your team can undertake processes for detecting, alerting and mitigating events that have a direct impact on IT security, such as the following:
  • Detection: Data is collected and analyzed from various sources and predefined rules and emerging technologies (advanced analytics and artificial intelligence) are used to help you identify patterns and anomalies to detect malicious activity.
  • Alert: Once a potential threat is detected, the SIEM system triggers alerts for your security team. Also, these alerts can be defined by severity and escalation levels. This allows you to prioritize and respond to the most critical incidents.
  • Mitigation: SIEM systems provide consolidated, detailed reports that help your security team understand and resolve security incidents efficiently.

Characteristics and Functionalities of a SIEM

Relationship between SIEM and SOC (Security Operations Center)

In a comprehensive IT security framework, some organizations have developed a Security Operations Center(SOC) to continuously monitor and improve the security structure of an organization, where SIEM becomes a powerful solution to achieve their objectives.

What is a SOC?

A SOC consists of a team of experts and the facilities in which they work to prevent, detect, analyze and respond to cybersecurity threats or computer, server and network incidents. Continuous security monitoring of all systems is carried out at the SOC, 24 hours a day. This team of experts must also be able to use various security tools and systems along with more complex forensic tools, as well as apply their practical security-related knowledge.

How SOC teams use SIEM for real-time security monitoring

Security experts working in a SOC require tools that allow them to concentrate knowledge. A SIEM allows relevant information to be shared and stored centrally, so that the entire team has access to the same knowledge. In addition, SIEM gives a complete overview of the entire enterprise network, reducing the possibility of an attack going unnoticed. In terms of threat reporting, SIEM allows the SOC to identify threats in real time and even predict them, so that it can trigger incident responses more immediately.
Another important aspect of SOC is collaboration. SIEM allows a team of security experts to work together from a single location and develop solutions to monitor and protect a network, and even define preventive and predictive actions.
This makes it clear that SIEM is essential to the work of the SOC through visibility and proper analysis.

Some practical examples of integration between SIEM and SOC:

• Comprehensive Incident Response Plan: In the SIEM system, events and incidents can be standardized and classified to define which ones will follow an automated process (those that are less critical, for example) and which ones require attention in a particular way by the SOC. In this plan, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined for the response to the different types of incidents.
• Definition of security policies: Through SIEM, it is possible to homogenize system monitoring and deploy standard monitoring by technology groups. SIEM also allows the analysis and correlation of events so that the SOC team can manage security events in an integrated manner and even redefine security policies.
• Custom configuration of the SIEM system: Depending on the SOC’s needs, SIEM alert parameters and dashboards can be adjusted to improve the relevance and expert action on the data collected in real time.

What is an endpoint and how does it relate to SIEM?

Endpoint security is one of the top IT priorities worldwide, as endpoints are the preferred port of entry for cybercrime seeking access to sensitive data and corporate networks.

Definition of endpoint and its importance in network security

An Endpoint is any device that connects to a computer network. In other words, it is a physical device that exchanges information over a computer network, such as mobile devices (smartwatch, smartphones, laptops), desktops, virtual machines, embedded devices and servers. The relationship it has with SIEM is that each device generates a large amount of security data, such as access logs, system events and network activities.

How SIEM helps manage and protect endpoints from advanced threats

A SIEM system has the ability to collect endpoint data as well as perform correlation and robust analysis to implement real-time monitoring and even integrate with Artificial Intelligence to identify anomalies and patterns to respond to increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity incidents.

Main benefits of using a SIEM

For security monitoring and security event management, SIEM has the following benefits:

• Real-time visibility: With SIEM, you can collect real-time data and have the ability to implement end-to-end monitoring from each device to the extended IT infrastructure. This visibility results in more robust situational awareness and enables IT teams (or your SOC) to make more informed, data-consistent decisions about security strategy and the beneficiaries of those resources.
• Compliance: You can implement audit automation and reporting for both your IT operation and your customers. This is because with SIEM you can operate under different regulatory standards (personal data protection such as GDPR, HIPAA or financial personal health data, PCI DSS), which is a big challenge for organizations. With SIEM this is simplified by pre-set compliance reports and dashboards for specific regulations. The collection and presentation of compliance data relevant to an audit can also be automated.
• Operational efficiency: Reducing false positives and optimizing IT resources dedicated to security can be implemented. Modern SIEM solutions have integrated security orchestration, automation and response capabilities into a single convergence. This allows automated security tasks and workflows to be executed for routine processes. Also SIEM gives the elements to coordinate complex response actions. In sum, overall efficiency in incident management is improved, while reducing the workload of a security team to concentrate on more strategic tasks. On the other hand, the reports generated by a SIEM system make it possible to optimize infrastructures, plan capacity upgrades and achieve overall efficiency of IT and the teams working on its security.
• Scalability: A SIEM system adapts to complex infrastructures. We know that the IT landscape is constantly changing, whether the organization wants to scale up or down its on-premises infrastructure, migrate to the cloud or adopt any hybrid model. It must also be able to incorporate new technologies and data sources. Scalability will be very effective in growing an organization’s IT landscape, accompanied by the ability for a single view of monitoring and managing security issues within multi-contextual environments.

Types of threats that SIEM can detect

Worldwide, cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Some of the most common are:

• Phishing: These attacks rely on communication methods such as email or text messages to convince you to open the message and follow the instructions it contains. If you follow the instructions, the attackers will gain access to personal data, such as credit cards, and can install malware on your device. The SIEM system can analyze incoming emails to identify patterns and characteristics in phishing attacks, such as suspicious links, unknown senders or attachments that may be malicious.
• Malware and ransomware: Cybercrime uses malicious software, such as spyware, viruses, ransomware and known worms (malware), to access data on a system. The moment a malicious attachment or link is clicked, the malware is installed and activated on the device. By continuously analyzing log and event data, SIEM can detect unusual or potentially malicious activity in real time. It can correlate a series of failed login attempts with unusual file access patterns to detect malware attempting to gain unauthorized access. In this way, SIEM contributes to the monitoring of anomalous behavior.
• DDoS Attacks: Correlation of unusual traffic and early warnings. SIEM constantly collects real-time data from various sources and allows correlations to be established to identify unusual patterns or traffic spikes that may signal the early stages of a DDoS attack. Correlation also makes it possible to detect complex attack patterns that normally go unnoticed by individual security tools. This helps to identify multi-vector DDoS attacks that use different methods simultaneously.
• Internal threats: By centralizing information from different sources, SIEM allows data analysis for the identification of malicious or unusual activities by users of the organization. Also, it is possible to detect unusual or violating data access or transfer, which also allows isolating systems or equipment to mitigate the leakage and take corrective actions in an efficient way.
• Data exfiltration: SIEM generates alerts when suspicious activity is detected for rapid investigation and response. This is because it has the ability to provide valuable information and context during incident investigations. Also, SIEM ensures that data handling practices comply with legal standards, which reduces the risk of data loss due to non-compliance.

To get an idea of the impact of this type of attack, in an Infosecurity Magazine article, it was reported that a mortgage company, LoanDepot suffered an attack that exposed the sensitive information of more than 16 million people. This incident cost 26.9 million dollars. Another case is that of the healthcare payments company, Change Healthcare, which suffered a ransomeware attack and had to pay $22 million to the cybercriminals.

Incident response with SIEM and SOAR

As we have seen, SIEM provides the ability to visualize and analyze log data for threat detection, security event management, incident analysis and compliance. SOAR is software to orchestrate and automate security incident response as follows:

Safety Automation: Introduction to the SOAR concept

SOAR refers to Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response. SOAR itself is a threat management strategy that identifies security threats and generates automated responses using security software and tools. A well-organized SOAR strategy reduces security risk by automating responses to identified security threats in three key operational areas:

• Orchestration: Connecting and integrating security tools and systems across the enterprise to mitigate security threats.
• Automation: The process of automating security tasks, such as vulnerability scanning and log searching, reducing the human error that can arise when collecting and reporting data.
• Incident response: A combination of human and Machine Learning capabilities to analyze collected data, assess its severity and execute incident response actions.

How automated orchestration improves response speed and effectiveness

The combination of SIEM with SOAR allows you to leverage the efficient collection of security data from various sources on your network at the time the incident is occurring, which improves the speed to detect threats and to orchestrate and automate tasks aimed at eliminating the threat or mitigating its effect. SIEM also provides the data necessary for the security team (or SOC) to be more efficient in managing security, as various tasks can be automated. This automation replaces repetitive analysis and reporting, reducing the workload on IT teams and allowing them to focus on incidents or tasks that are more critical to the company’s security.

SIEM and complementary technologies: IDS and IPS

A SIEM system can be complemented with other technologies to undertake a truly comprehensive and holistic security strategy. One of these is IDS (Intrusion Detection System), which is a system or application that detects unauthorized access to a computer or network. Another is IPS (Intrusion Prevention System), which is software used to protect systems from attacks and intrusions. These technologies are distinct, but can complement each other, so it is necessary to understand the key differences:

Examples of how these technologies work together for robust security

Once you understand the use of each technology, you can see that the SIEM system analyzes the events detected by IDS and IPS, in addition to establishing correlations of the data obtained with other sources to identify complex patterns and have a better context of what is happening. For example:

• Incident response: An IDS detects anomalous behavior in network traffic-some hacker is attempting to break into the network. SIEM receives the IDS alert and, by correlating it with other data, confirms that it is a coordinated attack. The IPS, previously configured, automatically blocks the malicious traffic, while your security team receives a detailed report of the incident.
• Compliance reports or audits: In IDS and IPS, data is generated and centralized in the SIEM to generate compliance reports. The organization demonstrates with the reports that it is implementing security strategies in accordance with regulations such as GDPR.
• Advanced Threat Analysis: At any given time, the IDS detects several access attempts from a particular IP. Using SIEM, the security team analyzes and correlates those access attempts with other events and indicators of compromise (IoC), determining that the IP is associated with a known phishing campaign. A decision is made to update the IP to block any traffic from it, thereby protecting the network from potential attacks.

How IDS and IPS can work with SIEM

Practical SIEM use cases for companies

BYOD policy implementation: How a SIEM can manage associated risks

A common practice of companies is BYOD in which, as we had mentioned before, their employees are allowed to use their personal devices to connect to the corporate network and resources. As we know, these devices are the endpoints that are preferred by cybercrime to try to access the corporate network. Therefore, through SIEM you can undertake real-time and constant monitoring of the devices to be detected and, if necessary, respond to possible intrusions based on event analysis and correlations.

SaaS user and application monitoring: Full visibility and access management

SIEM not only collects and analyzes data obtained from devices, but also from real-time events from various sources, including SaaS applications, with complete visibility. This is because, through rules and algorithms, SIEM detects unauthorized access or misuse of applications.

Post-incident forensic analysis: Utility of SIEM for investigations

As we know, large volumes of log data can be stored in SIEM for extended periods of time. This is very useful for investigations of past incidents to trace the origin and scope of attacks, identify persistent threats and understand the sequence of events that led to an incident.

Best practices for SIEM implementation

Like any technology, there are best practices for your IT team to maximize the benefits of SIEM. Some of these practices are:

• How to establish effective correlation rules. A first step is to clearly define the objectives to understand what the SIEM is intended to achieve, whether it is improvements in visibility, threat detection or ensuring regulatory compliance. Once this is done, plan what log data, events and sources are critical to the organization based on the scope of the systems, in order to integrate the security tools, along with the identification of the data sources. This defines what the normal behavior is and what the baseline activities are, and then defines rules that correlate events from multiple sources and help identify suspicious patterns. For example, a rule could correlate multiple failed login attempts followed by a successful login to detect possible attacks.
• Periodic adjustments to minimize false positives. Once the correlations are understood, the SIEM should be tested and refined, starting with a subset of technologies or policies to detect adjustments and then deployed throughout the organization. Once this is done, you should define periodic tests on the rules to refine them and reduce the chances of false positives that will only add workload and stress to your IT team. Also, these periodic adjustments serve for continuous improvements and updates, especially when we are aware that technology is constantly changing.
• Documentation and automation of workflows. The success of a SIEM is based on the company’s security team having documentation and ongoing training on its use and the definition of workflows. For workflows, repetitive and time-consuming tasks must first be identified. This is followed by defining and documenting the rules and criteria for automation. This includes setting thresholds for alerts, defining incident response actions and specifying conditions for automated responses. It is recommended to integrate the SIEM with a SOAR platform to orchestrate and automate incident responses. It is also important to develop and implement manuals for common security incidents. This documentation provides a standardized approach to handling incidents, including automation, to ensure consistent, effective and timely responses.

In addition to these practices, continuous monitoring and adjustment of automation rules and workflows to keep pace with the evolution of the organization and the sophistication of threats must be considered. Consideration should also be given to the integration of emerging technologies that can contribute to the effectiveness of threat detection and response capabilities. Finally, we always recommend to constantly train and increase the security competencies of your IT team to keep up with the technology being monitored and its respective potential threats in order to be able to read the information provided by SIEM and complementary technologies.

Best practices for SIEM implementation

Pandora SIEM is the security management solution that provides you with complete and proactive visibility over the security of your technological infrastructure.

• Our value proposition: Pandora SIEM detects, correlates and acts against threats in real time, across your entire infrastructure and differs from other SIEM solutions in the following ways:
  • Data collection from own agents. Unlike other solutions, which rely on external sources, Pandora SIEM collects and analyzes data directly from Pandora FMS monitoring agents, integrating log collection to generate specific security events.
  • Customizable correlation and enrichment through editable rules. Pandora SIEM has the ability to define public and editable rules that allow to enrich the knowledge and response to security events, as well as to create advanced correlations, adapting to the specific needs of each environment. This customization of rules facilitates the response to new threats.
  • Native integration with Pandora ITSM.It integrates natively with Pandora ITSM, allowing to manage the entire lifecycle of a security incident from a unified platform, which optimizes problem resolution and improves collaboration between teams.
• Unique advantages:
  • Response automation. Enables automation of programmatic responses to security events, such as service restarts or file deletion, reducing reaction time and minimizing potential damage without the need for human intervention.
  • Unlimited horizontal scalability. Pandora SIEM has been designed for a non-centralized architecture, so it adapts to the needs of your company, allowing you to scale horizontally without losing performance.
  • Centralized management from a single platform. Pandora SIEM’s native integration with Pandora ITSM helps you manage the lifecycle of a security incident from the same platform. This optimizes collaboration and agility between the teams involved in incident resolution.

Another important aspect is that the implementation of Pandora SIEM is fast, since it reuses the existing monitoring infrastructure, taking advantage of the deployment already performed, which also contributes to the optimization of operating costs by reducing the need for additional resources.

Conclusion: Why invest in a SIEM today?

SIEM systems are solutions based on a comprehensive, centralized and real-time vision to detect, counteract and prevent events that impact corporate security. They rely on dashboards, alerts and data aggregation for advanced analysis, event correlation and enrichment of knowledge about threats and security events, taking advantage of data at the time it is generated and historical data. SIEM, because of its visibility capabilities, operational efficiency, scalability and regulatory compliance, has become a powerful solution for Security Operations Centers for constant monitoring and expert forensic knowledge work on security incidents. In addition, SIEM can work in conjunction with security software and tools such as SOAR, IPS and IDS for robust and proactive security.
Going forward, with the increased use of cloud-based infrastructure, SIEM will continue to gain traction in adoption to simplify the collection and analysis of security event logs.
We invite you to explore the PANDORA SIEM solution to provide your team with a powerful and comprehensive solution to detect, correlate and act on any threat in real time. What better way than to experience it yourself? Scan this QR to request a demo: