Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) has become a vital part of security strategies for all growing businesses. It might be one of those things that you’re aware that you need but are not sure why. Or perhaps, you’ve never heard of it at all. Wherever you stand with your knowledge about it, you aren’t alone. This beginner’s guide will define what Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is, outline its benefits, and highlight its importance to your business.
What is Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)?
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is security software under Security as a Service (SECaaS). It analyzes your data logs and looks for suspicious activity within your network. It collects data from network devices, servers, and endpoints (laptops and desktops), stores and aggregates that data, and analyzes it to find network trends. It’s a cybersecurity solution that gives your corporation the ability to investigate alerts, detect threats, and ensure that your network is running safely and sound. Essentially, it gives security professionals insight into all the activities that occur in their IT environments.
Additionally, many SIEMs have the ability to use threat intelligence feeds that contain valuable information about recently observed threats around the world, enabling the SIEM to perform threat detection quicker and with better confidence. The software alone, however, is just one part of the puzzle. To have a complete solution, you need eyes on the glass to analyze the logs and the notifications to convert them to an actionable response.
What is a Log?
We previously mentioned the term “data logs”. A log is a time-stamped data point that documents the events that occur in a particular system or network. Log management is an integral part of the SIEM process. The SIEM software will collect and store data logs over a period of time so it can analyze the trends and records over networks and IT environments. Logs can come from a multitude of different places including security controls, applications, databases, hardware, and more.
Benefits of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
Efficient Security
Every business needs high security that doesn’t sacrifice their time. With SIEM, systems can operate on multiple devices across various networks, which makes identifying threats and analyzing them much more feasible. In addition, businesses don’t need to hire or outsource security professionals to handle their SIEMs. Instead, many choose to invest in SIEM from a service provider like Cyber Sainik because there’s no hassle. SIEM gives you the ability to mitigate threats quicker and more accurately, which ultimately saves time, energy, network infections, and possible data breaches.
A hacker will attempt an attack every 39 seconds and up to 2,244 times a day, while a ransomware attack occurs every 11 seconds. One of the most daunting aspects of cyberattacks is that it can take businesses months to even detect a breach, as hackers can roam around networks and collect information gradually. With all of this in mind, that makes SIEM that much more essential. When taking SIEM into consideration as part of your cybersecurity protocol, a big misconception among organizations is that cybercriminals bypass small businesses, when actually, 43 percent of online attacks are aimed at small businesses, yet only 14 percent are prepared to defend themselves. Due to the lack of cybersecurity solutions, 60 percent of businesses go out of business within six months of being victimized. In short, a SIEM investment could save your business.
Cost Effective
To reiterate, businesses don’t need to hire or outsource IT professionals to manage their SIEM system because that’s what a service provider is for, so SIEM can help save your organization money in that regard. Additionally, the average cost of a data breach is $3.92 million. Quick SIEM responses can have a major impact on your wallet, meaning the SIEM can catch the threat before it becomes a data breach, saving your business from catastrophic financial impact.
Deep Insight
When it comes to your business, deep insight is critical. Not only does this mean thorough analysis of the events that occur within your network, but also having a solid grasp of your entire organization. It’s important to quickly detect threats, but it’s even more important to understand why the threats are occurring from an internal perspective, so you know what to improve. SIEM offers deep insight so that you can best understand what areas are most vulnerable and what might need patching or extra attention.
More Control and Flexibility
Sometimes when we think of control, we don’t also think of flexibility. Fortunately, both are benefits of SIEM. The flexibility comes from using SIEM through a service provider like Cyber Sainik, as the analysis and event management are taken care of for you. However, businesses also have the leisure of being involved as much as they’d like. Additionally, the more insight a business has, the more control they have over what is happening within its systems.
What Industries Need a SIEM Tool?
All industries can benefit from a SIEM tool because all industries have something to lose from a cyberattack. Industries that handle highly confidential data such as healthcare and finance are businesses that especially need this investment. The key takeaway here is that a company with customers needs to protect their data with SIEM.
Why Use SIEM Through Cyber Sainik?
At Cyber Sainik, we believe that great technology is powered by great people, which is why we pride ourselves on personal touch and 24/7 monitoring and management, all year round. We understand that your business is your lifeline, which is why it needs tender love and care from outside threats. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) can unfortunately be overlooked, as it is a preventative investment.
Bottom Line
Many businesses lack the resources to have a cybersecurity team in-house, as it is very expensive. They also lack cybersecurity services, like SIEM because they believe nothing bad will ever happen to them. While this may cut costs at the moment, it puts them at much higher risk, increasing the potential to destroy your organization financially. In short, companies make the mistake of wanting cybersecurity when it’s already too late. Let Cyber Sainik protect your business with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). Contact us today!