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Security information and event management (SIEM) is a solution that aggregates and analyzes activity from various resources across the IT infrastructure. It collects security data from network devices, servers, domain controllers, and other systems, providing real-time analysis of security alerts generated by applications and network hardware.
SIEM technologies work by identifying, monitoring, recording, and analyzing security data to detect threats and manage incidents. They serve two primary functions: providing insight into potential threats and maintaining records for compliance purposes. They use analytics to sort through logged information, flagging anything indicating a security threat.
Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms focus on automating security operations and incident response tasks. They integrate disparate security tools and systems, allowing for a coordinated response to security incidents. SOAR solutions aim to improve the efficiency of security operations by reducing the response time to threats.
By automating routine workflows, SOAR platforms enable human analysts to focus on more complex and high-priority tasks. These systems use playbooks, which are predefined workflows that automate incident response, to ensure consistent handling of security events. SOAR emphasizes orchestration, bridging technology and process gaps in security.
In this article:
The main benefits of SIEM include:
Benefits of SOAR include:
Related content: Read our guide to SIEM tools
With over a decade of experience in the cybersecurity space, Zack is focused on delivering robust yet affordable security management for organizations with rapidly scaling data volumes.
In my experience, here are tips that can help you make better use of SIEM and SOAR systems:
Leverage threat intelligence feeds: Integrate external threat intelligence feeds with your SIEM to enhance detection capabilities. This helps in identifying emerging threats and patterns that might not be visible through internal data alone.
Develop custom parsers and rules: Tailor your SIEM rules and parsers to your specific environment and threat landscape. Customizing these rules will help reduce false positives and improve the accuracy of threat detection.
Use machine learning for anomaly detection: Incorporate machine learning models within your SIEM to identify unusual patterns and behaviors that might indicate a security threat, beyond what predefined rules can catch.
Conduct regular playbook reviews and updates: Periodically review and update SOAR playbooks to incorporate lessons learned from previous incidents, changes in the threat landscape, and new security tools.
Invest in user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA): Complement your SIEM with UEBA to detect insider threats and compromised accounts by analyzing user behavior and identifying deviations from normal activity.
Here’s a look at how these two types of platforms compare in key areas.
SIEM aims to collect, analyze, and correlate security data across an organization’s IT environment to identify suspicious activities in real time. SIEM solutions focus on detection and alerting, providing a central repository for security data. They generate alerts based on predefined rules and correlate events from various sources to highlight security incidents.
SOAR improves operational efficiency through automation and orchestration of security tasks. SOAR platforms automate incident response processes by integrating various security tools and workflows. The focus is on reducing manual intervention and enabling faster, more consistent responses to security threats through automation and predefined playbooks.
SIEM systems rely on a broad range of data sources including logs from network devices, servers, applications, and other IT infrastructure elements. The diversity and volume of data collected are important for effective threat detection and analysis.
SOAR platforms also use multiple data sources but are more focused on integrating these sources to inform operations and enable automation. The data sources for SOAR include security tools like firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, and threat intelligence feeds.
SIEM systems correlate events to produce meaningful alerts that can indicate potential security incidents. Analysts must then interpret these alerts, conduct investigations, and decide on the appropriate response. The process can be resource-intensive due to the high volume of alerts and the need for manual intervention.
SOAR aims to alleviate the burden of alert handling by automating many of these processes. When an alert is generated, the SOAR platform can automatically trigger a series of actions, such as isolating affected systems, gathering forensic data, and notifying the relevant personnel.
SIEM can be complex and resource-intensive to implement due to the need to collect and analyze large volumes of data from across the organization. It requires significant setup and continuous fine-tuning to ensure that the right data is being collected and that false positives are minimized. It also requires skilled personnel to manage and interpret the data.
SOAR also involves a degree of complexity, particularly in configuring integrations and workflows, but it aims to reduce the ongoing operational burden through automation. The upfront effort to implement SOAR can be offset by the gains in reduced manual effort required for incident response.
To make an informed choice, organizations should consider various factors that align with their needs and capabilities:
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