Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a powerful tool that provides a holistic view of an organization’s security. It works by collecting, aggregating, and analyzing security logs from various sources across the network.

SIEM (often pronounced ‘sim‘) utilizes a centralized platform, along with agents installed on each device in the network – including servers, workstations, mobile devices, and others.

Each agent collects and sends data to the SIEM, which serves as a command center for the gathered data.

By consolidating a diverse range of security data, SIEM enables businesses to detect, correlate, and respond to security incidents more effectively.

One of the key benefits of using SIEM is its ability to provide visibility into the entire IT environment. This visibility is essential for detecting and responding to cybersecurity incidents promptly.

While SIEM services are a great addition to any organization’s cybersecurity stack, we consider that the functionality of SIEM often overlaps with EDR/MDR. We consider endpoint protection – MDR in particular – to be foundational. The small business can then add SIEM functionality as desired or as required for compliance.

Beyond active threat detection and response, SIEM systems also play a critical role in compliance and reporting. They maintain detailed logs and audit trails that are essential for meeting regulatory requirements and for conducting forensic investigations after an incident has occurred.

Regulations such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR often mandate the collection and preservation of security logs, and SIEM systems help organizations satisfy these compliance mandates while also providing valuable insights into overall network security.

How SIEM Works

SIEM is a technology that provides centralized visibility into an organization’s environment by collecting, analyzing, and correlating data from multiple sources.

At its core, SIEM gathers logs and event data from firewalls, intrusion detection systems, servers, cloud platforms, and other critical network devices, collecting them into a central repository.

This centralized collection is essential because it allows the system to monitor activities across disparate parts of the network and to establish a comprehensive view of what is happening in real time.

Once the data is collected, the SIEM system processes and analyzes it by applying a set of predefined rules and threat intelligence feeds. This can identify known attack patterns like brute-force attempts, unusual logins, or lateral movement across the network.

Additionally, modern SIEM solutions often incorporate behavioral analytics, enabling the system to establish baselines of normal activity. When an activity deviates from these established norms, even if it doesn’t match a known signature, the SIEM can flag the behavior as anomalous.

When the system identifies a potential threat—such as a pattern of repeated failed login attempts followed by a suspiciously successful login—it generates real-time alerts.

These alerts notify security teams immediately, enabling them to investigate and respond swiftly to mitigate any potential damage.

SIEM for Small Businesses

SIEM has a lot to offer, but it also requires management. Someone needs to maintain the SIEM system, and generated alerts need to be triaged immediately. For many small businesses, this means that a managed SIEM solution is the only practical choice. However, we’ve found that managed SIEM solutions are also relatively expensive.

Additionally, there’s a lot of overlap between managed SIEM and managed detection and response, or MDR. The MDR included in our Security Essentials bundle provides deep insight across the organization – including deep analysis of traffic across the network and between devices – the same way that a SIEM operates. And, for less than the price of most managed SIEM solutions, we’re able to bundle it with vulnerability and patch management and a suite of DNS-based security tools.

Despite the overlap, SIEM can be considered a great addition to an organization’s security stack. As a tool designed to detect and respond to events across the network, it provides a ‘second set of eyes’ that can be used in coordination with MDR to improve security further.