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What is “Security information and event management”?
Data breaches happen so frequently that it’s easy to get desensitized to the constant risks that every company faces. To prevent this, security controls include a variety of threat detection and warning systems. However, because breaches occur on a regular basis, something in the model is clearly amiss. One mature area of technology ripe for assessment in analysing what works and what doesn’t is Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). SIEM solutions transform log entries and events from security systems into actionable data using rules and statistical correlations. This data may aid security teams in detecting threats in real time, managing incident response, conducting investigation process into previous security issues, and preparing compliance audits. SIEM is primarily concerned with security-related incidents and events, such as successful or unsuccessful logins, malware activity, or privilege escalation. Security analysts can uncover these insights via the SIEM platform’s visualisation and dashboarding capabilities, or they can be provided as notifications or alerts. These challenges might make selecting the best solution challenging; as there is no “one size fits all” solution.
Exabeam: Company Background
Exabeam, a security analytics firm based in Foster City, California, was created in 2013 and offers a security management platform that delivers end-to-end detection for threats. Shlomo Kramer, a cybersecurity pioneer and one of the creators of Check Point and Imperva, is the brain behind the company. Among other cybersecurity and IT service firms, he holds significant holdings in Cato Networks and Sumo Logic. Exabeam’s first product was the UEBA system, which was designed to be an add-on that firms could purchase to increase the performance of a SIEM that had already been deployed. In 2017, the firm increased its capabilities by launching its own SIEM. The SIEM is being marketed as a “next-generation security intelligence platform.”
Overview of Exabeam SIEM: Features and Benefits
Data processing is Exabeam’s major strength. It is significantly geared towards the SIM component of SEM since its architects envision it as a huge data processor. Its network monitoring functions serve as a data gathering point for the event search engine. The Exabeam plan is divided into four phases:
The Exabeam Data Lake: The log file manager is referred to as the Data Lake by Exabeam. This is a log consolidator that receives log messages from monitoring system agents and reorganizes them from their native layout into a neutral, standard format. All records can be manually searched, which is a need for data standards compliance since auditors want to be able to conduct their own ad hoc searches. The information that will be saved in files on the monitored machine will be replaced by log records stored in the Data Lake. Hackers are wasting time modifying log files to mask their activity since Exabeam’s threat hunting service runs on the Data Lake rather than local log files. Exabeam’s live network monitor is relegated to the status of a data gathering agent, although other SIEMs have one.
Advanced Analytics by Exabeam: There are two parts to this feature. The UEBA is a system that adjusts the baseline for comparison and an anomaly detection system is the other. Event correlation models are used by SIEM systems. They are looking for indicators of compromise (IOCs), which are a set of activities taken by a hacker. As a result, the advanced analytics engine will comb through the Data Lake for specific events that it recognises as APT or insider threat-related. It triggers an alarm if it discovers a user account or IP address that is linked to one of many IOC patterns. This alarm will display on Exabeam’s dashboard.
Exabeam Incident Responder: Exabeam’s SOAR implementation includes the Incident Responder. A set of rules governs how the response service operates. Each identified danger triggers an automatic response, which often entails suspending a user account or blacklisting a domain or IP address. Some action sequences, known as playbooks, can be paused and automated responses can be altered. The IT support team may also use the analytics module to manually detect threats and execute corrective measures.
Compliance reporting: One of the first motives for firms to implement SIEM systems was to achieve accreditation for data protection requirements. This was before the discovery of APTs. A major issue with data security compliance is that it necessitates a great deal of paperwork, and the information contained in log files is crucial for compliance reporting. Compliance auditors want to check through all of a company’s log files to discover whether there was a data breach that was covered up. As a result, logs must be stored for lengthy periods of time, and their information must be indexed and searchable. SIEM systems excel at meeting log record management requirements.
Exabeam Fusion (Cloud SIEM)
Exabeam Fusion SIEM is a cloud-based SIEM solution that combines traditional SIEM features including centralized log storage, advanced intelligent search, data enrichment, and XDR compliance reporting to efficiently tackle the threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR) issue. Fusion SIEM includes the power of Fusion XDR to analyse data in real-time to identify malicious and compromised insiders as well as external threats, turbocharging analyst productivity and reducing response times. Unlike traditional SIEMs and log management solutions that struggle to identify threats hiding in plain sight without adding additional detection solutions, Fusion SIEM includes the power of Fusion XDR to analyse data in real-time to identify malicious and compromised insiders as well as external threats, turbocharging analyst productivity and reducing response times. In a modern SecOps system, organizations get best-in-class detection and response, as well as fast logging and search.
Configuration choices for Exabeam SIEM
Exabeam is accessible as a software as a service (SaaS) on cloud servers. The servers also provide log storage, which may be backed up on a third-party storage system if desired. Data gathering for the Exabeam Data Lake necessitates the installation of agent programmes on the monitored system. Exabeam is available for a free trial for interested enterprises. Exabeam has formed partnerships with firms who provide Exabeam software as a network appliance. Exabeam can also be hosted privately on an Amazon Web Services server.
Pricing and Flexible Choices
Exabeam, unlike classic SIEMs, does not charge based on the amount of data kept in them, but instead charges based on the number of users that utilise it.
Exabeam has the following features:
- Complex current threats like as credential-based assaults, insider threats, and ransomware are detected using User and Entity Behavior Analysis (UEBA).
- Analyst research is automated using pre-built session timetables, making proactive analysis faster and easier.
- Prioritization of security alerts to guarantee analysts can quickly locate the warnings that demand the greatest attention.
- A one-of-a-kind session data model that identifies lateral movement, such as changes in credentials, IP addresses, or devices, automatically.
- All major SIEM systems, as well as Exabeam’s Log Management and Incident Response products, are interoperable.
- Setup and use are simple.
- Multi-node scale-out architecture
- Out of the box, it supports over 500 data sources.
- Ability to install as pre-sized physical appliances or cloud-ready virtual machines (VMs).
- Agents can run on either Windows or Linux.
References
https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/g-cloud/services/236816045431337
https://www.exabeam.com/explainers/siem/what-is-siem/
https://www.exabeam.com/siem/cloud-siem-features-capabilities-and-advantages/