A Brief Introduction to Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

16. Sep 2022 — Shawn Maholick
A Brief Introduction to Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

As a result of technological innovations, the increasing connectivity of systems and the resulting digitalization, individuals and companies are increasingly the focus of attacks and attempted fraud over the Internet. Threats and attacks are real and steadily increasing. Attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and scams are getting more and more perfidious.

New technologies and more powerful systems are needed to deal with the situation, detect attacks early and respond immediately.

In the last few years, SIEM (Security Information Event Management) has established itself as a de facto standard in information and IT security, which did not arrive everywhere yet. The number of products and services offered is large, the costs and complexity moderate, and the benefits immense.

What Is Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)?

Security Information and Event Management is a security solution that can recognize and report
security threats to prevent or reduce their effects.

We can also describe SIEM as a combination of SIM (security information management) and SEM (security event management). This security software improves threat detection, event management, and compliance by collecting and analyzing log data from a variety of sources.

SIEM Features

Now you understand what SIEM is, so let’s explore its most important features.

  • Threat Detection

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Notifications and Alerts

  • Customizable Dashboards

  • Log Collection and Management

  • Compliance Reports

  • Integrations with Existing Security Systems

  • Forensics and Incident Response

Threat Detection

Due to its proactive monitoring, SIEM detects security threats in real time. This feature gives
you the power to react on time and prevent further damage from occurring. SIEM threat
detection can recognize most of today’s threats, such as SQL database injections,
Distributed-Denial-of-Service attacks, data phishing, and much more.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

SIEM is compatible with modern security solutions that take advantage of deep learning and
machine learning. This ability greatly enhances its security performance.

Notifications and Alerts

Thanks to their advanced reporting abilities, SIEM solutions can be tailored to your specific
needs. For example, you can customize notifications in tiers and set which teams or users will
be notified for each alert type.

Customizable Dashboards

One of the primary concerns in security management is about displaying all the relevant data in
an easy-to-digest way. That’s because a lot of incidents can happen in a short period of time
and overwhelm us. SIEM aims to report these incidents with a customizable dashboard.

Log Collection and Management

SIEM can aggregate log data from lots of sources and process them in real time.

Compliance Reports

As organizations grow, so does their scope of compliance requirements. That’s where SIEM
shines with its automated data gathering and analysis. It can also generate most of the
well-known compliance reports in real time.

Integrations with Existing Security Systems

Since SIEM can be integrated with most of the well-known security solutions, it can provide a
unique overview of your whole security infrastructure. That way, you can have full control of
security events and notifications to improve your processes.

Forensics and Incident Response

Responding to a security threat is as important as detecting it. Thanks to its extensive log
analysis capabilities, SIEM provides deep insights into each incident. These insights speed up
the investigation and allow you to implement new security solutions more effectively.

Conclusion

So far, we have covered what SIEM is, how it works, and what its most important features are.

To summarize, SIEM has plenty of valuable features that can significantly improve the security
of your business. While it can take a significant amount of time and upfront costs to implement
this solution, it’s well worth considering.

Now that you know more about it, you will be able to decide if it’s something your company
should invest in.

Shawn Maholick

Shawn Maholick

Seasoned Tech Expert and Software Developer Sharing Insights on Organizational Scalability and Sustainable Practices for the Modern Tech Landscape.