What Is SIEM and How Can It Benefit Your Business?

You might have heard of the acronym SIEM applied to cyber security but never really understood it. However, SIEM is extremely important. For example, it can protect your business from the latest cyber security threats. Therefore, it makes sense to learn more about this important technology and the benefits it offers your business.

Cyber threats are evolving and becoming ever more sophisticated. So now is the time to invest in technologies to keep your business secure. SIEM technology can be a great way to do this. Here we take a look at exactly what SIEM is and the ways in which it could benefit your company.

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What Is SIEM?

SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management. It describes overarching technology that detects threats by analyzing activity across network environments. It does this by capturing, aggregating, and correlating event logs. In the process, it identifies patterns of anomalous activity that could indicate a threat or compromise.

The purpose of SIEM is to monitor your network in real time and warn you about potential threats. The software uses behavioral analytics to identify sequences of events. And when it identifies a suspicious sequence, it generates an alert for investigation.

There are many different types of SIEM software available, each with varying feature sets. For this reason, it’s always worth doing research to identify the best solution for your business’s needs.

Benefits of SIEM

To protect your business from hackers and cyber criminals you need the ability to see what is happening inside your network. Unfortunately, traditional perimeter security such as firewalls and antivirus software is no longer effective at fully protecting your business. You need to have visibility across your network. Only when you do will you be able to understand what is going on. Without network visibility it can be almost impossible to know whether your organization has been breached or is being targeted by an advanced persistent threat.

Identifying breaches early can help to save your business from severe damage to its finances and its reputation. It does this by enabling you to significantly reduce average attacker dwell time. Additionally, it allows you to respond to threats before they spread.

But SIEM actually has a wider range of benefits than simply strengthening your defenses. For example, since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was instated in the UK in May 2018, organizations that handle personal data are required to have appropriate controls in place. In other words, they must be able to detect and report breaches. This is due to the fact that if the organization suffers a data breach, they must inform anyone affected within 72 hours.

Is SIEM Right for Your Business?

With that said, SIEM software is not right for every business, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, these systems do tend to generate a high volume of alerts. Moreover, each of these alerts must be investigated to establish whether it is a real problem or a false alarm. This process can be resource-intensive. As a result, SIEM can be overwhelming for businesses that lack IT personnel and resources.

To get the most out of the software you need to have a good understanding of the best ways to deploy the system. Additionally, you need to know how you are going to manage, monitor, and investigate alerts. What’s more, SIEM systems that have not been correctly configured can lead to alert fatigue. Understanding where to deploy SIEM sensors across a network and how to tune them to identify behaviors of interest can make a big difference.

Could You Benefit from a Managed SIEM Service?

If you think that your organization would benefit from a SIEM system, but you lack the technical expertise in house to manage it effectively, you might want to consider a managed service.

A managed SIEM service, supplying a team of experienced security professionals, can help you to identify the best SIEM solution for your organization. They can also perform important yet time-consuming tasks. For instance, they will manage 24/7 system monitoring, alert investigation, triage, and incident response.

SIEM is a powerful technology that can help to significantly improve your organization’s cyber security posture. However, organizations need to ensure they have the experts in place to leverage it effectively and achieve its full potential.