SIEM environment - definition & overview

A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) environment is a virtual space in which log data is collected, interpreted and represented visually. The SIEM environment is a unified, integration layer that sits on top of your systems and infrastructure for detecting suspicious activity and recognizing security breaches in real time. SIEM environments ensure that you’re storing and managing data ethically, keeping your systems secure, and providing the most efficient, cost-effective, and timely data management solution for your organization.

Before SIEM solutions, cyber security teams had to monitor each of their various applications, endpoints, and network hardware through several individual tools. They also had to rely on several solutions to collect, assess, and interpret data from disparate parts of their infrastructure.

Rather than replace these tools, SIEM tools act as a manager and integration layer that oversees and functions on top of your existing infrastructure, allowing you to gather, store, and assess that data in real-time, easily readable formats.

• Data aggregator: SIEM environments automatically collect, store, and interpret data in easy-to-read and digestible formats. They provide real-time data aggregation, allowing you to monitor your entire cybersecurity and data management infrastructure from a single source.

• Searching capabilities and forensic analysis: The SIEM environment makes it easier for organizations to parse through countless logs, even if they were created weeks or months ago. SIEM environments allow security teams to search through logs and easily enable their forensic analysis process.

• Reporting system: SIEM environments interpret and report on data logs, events, and suspicious activity throughout the environment, providing teams with real-time reports on potential security breaches within their infrastructure. Reporting systems present digestible graphic models and run simultaneously on the same servers as web applications.
  
  Additional features in some SIEM environments:

• Basic security monitoring: SIEM environments provide basic security monitoring for your various endpoints, hardware and apps.

• Advanced threat detection: Automated monitoring and machine learning features allow SIEM environments to detect threats and data breaches before they harm your systems.

• Forensics and incident response: Forensics capabilities will allow you to easily and efficiently search through millions of logs, events, and incidents.

• Log collection: As organizations scale and grow, so do their log collection needs. SIEM environments will cover their log collection and storage needs regardless of their size.

• Normalization: Forensic analysis will help teams parse through tedious log normalization.

• Notifications and alerts: The power of automation means SIEM environments will provide instant notifications and alerts.

• Security incident detection: To minimize any breaches your systems may incur, security incident detection must be swift and reliable.

• Threat response workflow: Advance SIEM environments include workflow and case management that will help improve and hasten investigation and threat-response processes.

• Security event correlation: SIEM environments are quick, but they’re also accurate. Security event correlation capabilities will ensure you identify the source of security threats.

• Compliance maintenance: Any organizations that collect, store, and interpret data to have to stay within compliance and regulatory standards. SIEM solutions allow you always to meet the mark on your compliance needs.

As different industries and different regions in the world continue to enforce regulatory laws and compliances, the ability of companies to meet these standards is becoming more and more necessary. Below are just a few of the same major regulatory acts and standards that organizations need to abide by.

• HIPAA — The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT has strict, regulatory safeguards that correlate to sensitive patient data. SIEM environments meet those strict needs and guarantee you’re in line with regulatory updates and ongoing standards.

• PCI — The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard encompasses a set of regulations that oversee the management of another sensitive industry: credit card data and cardholder data.

• SOX — The Sarbanes-Oxley Act helps protect investors from fraudulent financial reporting.

• GDPR — The General Data Protection Act provides EU citizens with a laundry list of protective measures related to how companies collect, organize, and share their data. This applies to companies based in the US or outside of Europe but still cater to European customers.

Sumo Logic is your all-in-one, multi-purpose SIEM environment. Backed by the power of automation and machine learning, Sumo Logic’s SIEM environment is a cutting-edge solution that will monitor and troubleshoot in real-time, act on threats instantly, and help you make smarter decisions.

Sumo Logic’s SIEM cloud platform ensures you’re ready for compliance or regulatory audits anytime, anywhere. Resolve issues instantly, aggregate data efficiently, and keep your organization safe every time with Sumo Logic today.

Is a SIEM environment sold separately from a SIEM solution?

A SIEM solution includes the software tool and the necessary infrastructure to support it. The SIEM tool and environment are usually bundled to ensure seamless integration and optimal performance in managing security information, event data, threat detection, investigation and response and overall security operations.

What are the characteristics of an effective SIEM environment?

• Seamless integration

• Scalability

• Continuous real-time monitoring

• Customizability

• Advanced analytics

• Automated incident response

• Reporting and alerts

• Log management 

• Audit trails

How do SIEM environments vary across organizations?