Staying ahead of the cybersecurity curve can feel like running a daunting marathon, but finding the ideal security information and event management (SIEM) system can help ease the pressure and to significantly level the playing field for organizations.
Legacy SIEM platforms were designed to be deployed on-premises, not in the cloud. This old-school approach means they have limited scalability and cannot adapt to the modern cloud-first business landscape. In contrast, security data platforms that have emerged in recent years leverage cloud technology. These solutions adapt to the changing requirements of today’s security operations and offer cloud-native software-as-a-service (SaaS) models to provide greater flexibility.
Unfortunately for CISOs, many existing SIEMs like to present themselves as modern solutions in the market. These tips will help you determine which SIEMs are the real deal.
A SaaS deployment model
Typically deployed on-premises, existing SIEMs lag behind in terms of scalability. Hardware components also require significant administrative overhead. Smarter security solutions, meanwhile, are offered through SaaS models, which leverage the elasticity of the cloud to provide compute, memory, and storage resources on demand.
Cloud-based architecture allows organizations to collect and retain more data, perform more frequent searches, and gain better visibility into their attack surface. Many existing SIEMs were designed to be deployed on-premises, but now offer “cloud” solutions. But beware! If you can still deploy the solution on-premises, you’re probably dealing with a legacy platform masquerading as a more modern solution.
Built for SIEM dependency
Existing SIEMs often have a modular architecture and require complementary components for specific functionality, resulting in a disjointed workflow for analysts. Conversely, smarter SIEMs have a comprehensive, open architecture that integrates all functionality, such as machine learning, data visualization and analysis, into a single user interface (UI), rather than the old brick-by-brick approach.
This simplified user interface allows analysts to work more efficiently, with improved collaboration and data correlation. Modern SIEMs prioritize open integration and provide flexible APIs to seamlessly integrate with other solutions. On the other hand, existing SIEMs limit integrations with external vendors. Today’s leading platforms allow organizations to import data from multiple sources and use the latest threat intelligence feeds to enrich context and improve detection capabilities. The threat of vendor lock-in is all too real with legacy systems; Don’t let your vendor dictate what tools you can use and protect.
Intelligent analysis and data storage
Existing SIEMs must analyze and index data at the time of ingestion, leading to alert lag and slow searches during data spikes. Modern SIEMs take a different approach, storing raw data for instant search and providing the ability to analyze the data during a query to eliminate delays.
They also leverage unique storage systems, compress data to optimize storage space, and provide efficient search performance for recent and historical data. The biggest advantage of an existing SIEM is that it indexes data before you receive alerts.
Data enrichment and threat monitoring
Next-generation SIEMs offer flexible data enrichment capabilities, allowing organizations to add contextual information to their log data. This enrichment effort allows analysts to make faster, more informed decisions. They also provide integrated threat intelligence platforms, eliminating the need for separate solutions and enabling security operations center (SOC) teams to stay informed of the latest threat indicators.
On the other hand, if your SIEM only offers threat intelligence using the vendor’s data sources, this should be considered a serious red flag. This can leave you exposed if there is a specific attack vector for your industry that you won’t have monitoring for. In other words, you’ll be going up a stream without a paddle.
Modern security data platforms prioritize improving SOC analyst workflow by providing a single user interface that consolidates all the information and tools needed to conduct investigations.
This streamlined approach improves collaboration and accelerates incident response. But if your analysts need to open multiple windows and copy and paste between them, make sure it’s a legacy SIEM.
Choosing the right security solution
The right SIEM solution is essential to a world-class cybersecurity strategy. When evaluating potential vendors, you should prioritize scalability, flexibility, and usability to mitigate risks and protect your organization’s critical assets. It’s critical to differentiate between a truly cloud-first intelligent SIEM option and a legacy alternative that a vendor has touted as such.
Devo, for example, is a fully managed cloud-native SaaS system that can handle monumental amounts of data from multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments. Its pricing model is also refreshingly simple and includes all sorts of features. It’s also an organic system that integrates seamlessly with other technologies, with its fully extensible API working with any Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) technology in your choice. It also ingests data from almost any source in structured or unstructured formats and keeps it raw without modifying it. Now add 400 days of live searchable data, making it easier for analysts to detect the origins of a threat in their environment.
The platform also analyzes data at the time of request rather than at the time of ingestion, meaning your organization can reduce any delays in processing requests. Finally, it’s integrated with the MISP threat intelligence storage platform, meaning your organization won’t have to configure or code anything manually.
If you are looking for a complete SIEM solution that checks all the boxes, this Buyer’s Guide compares the best providers and has all the information you need to spot impostors and make the right decision.
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