Cybercriminals today have become more advanced and sophisticated than we could’ve ever imagined in the past. They are no longer lone wolves finding exploits in systems and exploiting them for...
5/21/2019
You need your tech.
Modern businesses rely heavily on their IT infrastructure in order to conduct their regular activities. And while reliance on IT has allowed organizations to become more streamlined and productive, there is a persistent threat that all businesses have to face: cybersecurity threats and incidents.
Cybersecurity incidents are nothing new. Most businesses will try to establish safeguards designed to ensure their IT infrastructure is secure.
However, the days of slapping up some firewalls and subscribing to an antivirus software are long gone. More and more companies have come to recognize the reality: that cybersecurity threats are continually evolving, and criminal hackers become more sophisticated by the day.
In order to address this, businesses have begun to turn to a more dynamic method of managing the security of their IT infrastructure: security information and event management (SIEM) software.
What is SIEM?
SIEM is a combination of two different security technologies:
- Security event management (SEM), which seeks to monitor and notify a business of cybersecurity threats based on suspicious events in your system.
- Security information management (SIM), which primarily serves to report on log data, generate alerts and issue security compliance reports.
How does SIEM work?
The role of SIEM in cybersecurity is to provide a complete overview of a business’ entire IT infrastructure.
Log data from applications, devices, networks, firewalls, antivirus software, wireless access points, and similar sources are collected in order to identify, analyze, and categorize different types of security threats the business may experience.
SIEM products also provide dynamic, up-to-date information on the overall health of a business’ security system. This information can then be used to complete security compliance reports, analyze areas of weakness, and strategize solutions that may best protect the business’ entire IT systems in the future.
Why is SIEM beneficial to a business?
- Mass application. SIEM technology is incredibly flexible, making it suitable for almost any business – regardless of the size of the company, the industry in which it works, or the complexity of the existing IT infrastructure.
- Improved threat detection. SIEM allows for rapid threat detection, which in turn helps to reduce security breaches across a business’ entire IT infrastructure. The quicker that threats are identified, the quicker the response is, and thus the more secure the business’ IT systems will be.
- Straightforward compliance reporting. Compliance reporting is crucially important in the modern, data-sensitive world, with businesses required to comply with regulations such as HIPAA, GPG13, and the European Union’s GDPR. SIEM allows businesses to apply constant vigilance on security issues that may be problematic in terms of compliance, which subsequently helps to limit (potentially costly) compliance violations in the future.
What are the limitations of SIEM?
As with any cybersecurity measure, SIEM can only be successful if used by knowledgeable individuals. After all, a tool is only as useful as the expert that wields it!
Due to the nature of the technology and the constant vigilance it provides, SIEM systems generate countless alarms, alerts, and false positives. As a result, all warnings need to be critically assessed by genuine expert analysts. This can be time-consuming and laborious, especially for smaller companies with smaller IT departments who are usually focused on keeping your technology infrastructure running smoothly.
Responding to genuine alerts requires significant expertise; an effective response must be strategized and implemented as quickly as possible in order to enjoy the benefits of the rapid reporting SIEM is able to provide.
Simply put: the identification of a threat is only useful if the individual notified of that threat knows how to resolve the issue that has been identified.
How can these issues be overcome?
For business owners hoping to enjoy the benefits of SIEM without incurring the expense of training an in-house security team, the best solution is managed SIEM services.
Rather than having to invest heavily in their existing IT department – or, as is necessary in some cases, endure the time and expense of recruiting new staff – a business can access managed SIEM services quickly and easily, safe in the knowledge that the required expertise will always be on hand to monitor their systems as required.
The benefits of outsourcing SIEM
- Comprehensive cybersecurity and compliance assurance. Outsourcing SIEM management allows an organization to access arguably the most advanced, reliable method of cybersecurity and regulatory compliance currently available – much to the benefit of the organization as a whole.
- Specialist expertise. In addition to ensuring that your business can benefit from the full potential offered by SIEM technologies, outsourcing to experts also provides access to genuine cybersecurity expertise. As SIEM service providers are immersed in cybersecurity matters on a day-to-day basis, they are best equipped to respond quickly and effectively to the threats posed by modern cybercriminals.
- Peace of mind. Issues such as cybersecurity and regulatory compliance are a constant concern for modern organizations and one which can divert attention from the core operations of the business. By opting for managed SIEM services, business leaders are able to enjoy the peace of mind of knowing these essential areas will always be completely under control.
- Customer reassurance. Modern customers are incredibly aware of the sensitivity of their data and expect that companies will respond accordingly by taking every conceivable step to ensure that data security is maintained at all times. Working with a professional provider of managed SIEM services demonstrates to your customers that you take cybersecurity seriously and that they can thus be sure their data will be is in the best possible hands.
SIEM systems are incredibly powerful, offering a wide range of security and compliance-related protections to modern organizations.
However, SIEM systems have to be monitored by reliable, experienced experts in order to ensure the benefits of SIEM are fully realized. For companies who may struggle to achieve the full benefits of SIEM in-house, opting for managed SIEM services provided by a reputable, dedicated company is by far the best choice – and should result in a fully compliant, secure IT infrastructure in future.
If you’re ready to explore the possibility of a robust SIEM as a Service (SaaS) plan, we’d love to have a conversation. At BitLyft, we specialize in securing organizations of all sizes. Contact us today to see how we can help.
