How can you improve your knowledge of security information and event management (SIEM) systems?

I prioritize a structured and hands-on approach to enhance my expertise in security information and event management (SIEM) systems. Firstly, I immerse myself in comprehensive training materials, including online courses, industry publications, and vendor documentation, to build a solid theoretical foundation. Next, I actively engage with SIEM platforms in a lab environment or through real-world projects, where I can apply theoretical concepts to practical scenarios. This allows me to gain insights into SIEM concepts, enabling me to develop proficiency in threat detection and security analytics. Furthermore, I seek opportunities to collaborate with SIEM practitioners & participate in professional forums & stay updated on the latest trends.

To enhance your understanding of SIEM systems, just remember: "When in doubt, log it out!". To enhance my grasp of security information and event management (SIEM) systems, I diligently engage in hands-on practice, exploring various tools and methodologies. By immersing myself in continuous learning through online resources, courses, and real-world scenarios, I fortify my expertise in effectively managing and analyzing security data, ensuring robust protection against potential threats.

To enhance your understanding of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, start by studying reputable online resources, such as documentation, blogs, and tutorials from leading SIEM providers. Engage in hands-on practice with a SIEM platform to gain practical experience in configuring and analyzing security events. Attend relevant training courses, webinars, and conferences to stay updated on the latest trends and best practices in SIEM implementation. Finally, join professional forums and communities to connect with experts and exchange insights on SIEM strategies and challenges.

SIEM systems gather data from diverse sources, including network devices, servers, applications, databases, and security tools such as firewalls, antivirus solutions, and intrusion detection systems (IDS). This data can include logs, events, alerts, and other security-related information. SIEM systems analyze the collected data to identify patterns, anomalies, and potential security threats. Some SIEM systems incorporate UEBA capabilities to analyze user and entity behavior for detecting insider threats and advanced attacks. UEBA uses machine learning algorithms to identify deviations from normal behavior patterns and flag suspicious activities.

Check out the online resources available, including online courses, books, and blogs, that provide practical examples and exercises to help you learn and apply these concepts. By investing time in learning the basics, you can maximize the value of your SIEM system and enhance your organisation’s security posture - a lot of these resources are free, but don't be scared to invest in improving your own skills!

Diligently exploring and comparing various SIEM platforms is essential for cybersecurity professionals. By engaging with different systems through trials, demos, or sandbox environments, you gain invaluable insights into their functionalities and suitability for real-world scenarios. Consulting reviews and case studies further enriches your understanding, allowing for informed decision-making.

Here are some popular SIEM platforms: 1. Splunk: Splunk is a widely used SIEM platform known for its powerful search and analytics capabilities. 2. IBM QRadar: IBM QRadar is a comprehensive SIEM solution that combines log management, threat detection, and incident response capabilities. 3. LogRhythm: LogRhythm is a SIEM platform that provides centralized log management, security analytics, and threat intelligence capabilities. 4. AlienVault (now AT&T Cybersecurity): AlienVault, now part of AT&T Cybersecurity, offers a SIEM platform called USM (Unified Security Management) that combines SIEM, intrusion detection, vulnerability assessment, and threat intelligence capabilities.

Each SIEM platform will have different capabilities and functionality but a good SIEM is the one that will achieve your Security team and needs. Analyse the pros and cons of each platform and do a PoC and test if possible on small real scenarios, that you have already worked on the log ingestion and know exactly what you are looking for - Knowing what you need makes it easier to explore different ones. Ask for a presentation from the vendor or official re-seller, look at the segments of each customer and why they use that specific SIEM platform. I've worked with some of them such as Splunk, LogRhytm, Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar SIEM. Define and expand the needs for each component and evaluate the positives and negatives of each system

O FortiSIEM da Fortinet é uma solu??o integrada de seguran?a cibernética que oferece detec??o avan?ada de amea?as, resposta automatizada a incidentes e conformidade regulatória. Ele se destaca pela integra??o com outros produtos Fortinet, análise avan?ada de dados, automa??o de resposta, relatórios de conformidade e escalabilidade. Essa plataforma abrangente é popular entre organiza??es que buscam fortalecer sua seguran?a cibernética de forma eficaz e integrada.

Set up a lab environment to gain hands-on experience with different SIEM tools. Experiment with configuring data sources, creating correlation rules, generating alerts, and investigating security incidents. This hands-on experience will deepen your understanding of SIEM capabilities and workflows.

Practicing with real data is an excellent way to improve your knowledge and skills in using SIEM: Access Real Data Sources: Gain access to real data sources that generate security-related logs and events, such as network devices, servers, applications, and security tools. Configure Data Ingestion: This involves setting up data collection agents, configuring log sources, and ensuring that logs and events are properly forwarded to the SIEM system. Explore Data Sources and Formats: This may include syslog, SNMP traps, Windows event logs, database logs, and application logs. Understand how to parse and normalize data from various sources for analysis.

Engaging with real-world data is a pivotal step in mastering SIEM systems. Utilizing actual data from your organization or leveraging open-source datasets can significantly enhance your understanding of SIEM functionalities. This hands-on approach allows for the practical application of SIEM techniques, fostering the development of custom rules, alerts, and dashboards tailored to specific security needs. Through this practice, you can gain insights into effective system utilization across various scenarios, ultimately strengthening your proficiency in security event management and analysis.

Use the open-source and easy tools that can easily build the needed logging level like SYSMON (part of sysinternals suit) and enable the Command line Logging and enable PowerShell Logging, would be enough and sufficient to practice the basics of MITRE Attack framework use cases.

Try to define and get real data that's not critical but useful and will expose your company or the customer data to the World. With real scenarios and environments, you get real practice. PoCs are good to practice and good to show proof to the customer (internal and external), I like to call PoV (Proof of Value) and look for the core components of an SIEM System: How is the Threat Detection? Does it provide accurate threat detection with the aid of rules and behaviour analytics? Can I also add threat feeds, blacklists or even geolocations?Do we have data normalization or aggregation? Where can I manipulate the data? How about the compliance and reporting? Or even the threat intelligence and security alerting and the real-time notifications?

Do you follow the news and what is coming up or what threats are rising currently? I always like to understand and follow every talk, news across the globe, and podcast and also participate in hackathons, webinars and also going to events where I can network and meet my peers, being a cyber security architect it's important to understand every component and new aspect that can help us to build defence and see what we need to manage and automate the defence against the threats.

This includes leveraging external threat intelligence sources, such as commercial threat feeds, open-source threat intelligence platforms, and information-sharing communities. Machine Learning and AI: SIEM platforms should leverage AI-powered algorithms and ML to improve threat detection accuracy and reduce false positives. Cloud and Hybrid Environments: SIEM systems need to support diverse deployment models and effectively monitor security events across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. IoT and OT Security: SIEM systems need to adapt to monitor and analyze security events from IoT devices, industrial control systems (ICS), and SCADA systems to protect critical infrastructure and operational environments.

Na ciberseguran?a, a constante evolu??o demanda atualiza??o contínua nos sistemas SIEM. Acompanhar as últimas tendências é essencial para entender como novas amea?as e tecnologias impactam esses sistemas. Recursos como notícias, blogs, podcasts e webinars fornecem insights sobre desafios emergentes. Participar de comunidades on-line também é valioso para compartilhar conhecimento e recursos sobre seguran?a cibernética e SIEM.

Seeking feedback and guidance from experienced professionals is an excellent way to improve your knowledge of SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems: Join Professional Communities: Participate in online forums, discussion groups, and professional communities focused on cybersecurity and SIEM systems. Attend Training and Workshops: Enroll in training courses, workshops, and webinars focused on SIEM technology and best practices. Network with Peers: Attend industry conferences, seminars, and networking events to connect with peers and professionals working in the field of cybersecurity and SIEM. Mentorship Programs: Seek out mentorship opportunities with experienced professionals who have expertise in SIEM systems.

Buscar feedback e orienta??o é crucial para aprimorar seus conhecimentos em sistemas SIEM. Interaja com colegas, mentores e instrutores experientes, fazendo perguntas e solicitando feedback. Participe de discuss?es on-line, sess?es de perguntas e respostas e revis?es por pares para aprender com os erros, acertos e melhores práticas dos outros. Isso contribui para melhorar suas habilidades e competências em seguran?a cibernética e SIEM.

I do like to go to cyber security forums, public and interactive QA's for the SIEM platforms to see what people are talking about and understand the experts that work managing those systems as well as whoever can help to understand the current best practice (that can evolve time to time and apply different techniques and strategies to various companies as well seeking and following advice from other peers.

Start with a professional training on SIEM tool, as there are many organizations who are providing SIEM (Security, Information, and Event Management) tool services. Look at the attributes within SIEM tool and gain understanding. Play with data and its features, learn to analyze factors with a bigger picture. Every attribute has its own unique value, and plays a significant role. Do not ignore timings in siem tool data. Use scenario based approaches too.

One effective way to deepen your understanding of SIEM systems is to immerse yourself in real-world scenarios. Try simulating security incidents or analyzing sample data sets to see how SIEM tools detect and respond to threats. Additionally, don't hesitate to experiment with different configurations and settings to customize the SIEM platform to your organization's specific needs. Remember, learning is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about hands-on exploration and continuous experimentation. So, roll up your sleeves, dive into the data, and let your curiosity guide you! ?????

A few extra points to consider on SIEM. Consider your storage & cost requirements for SIEM. On-prem, cloud or hybrid. Make sure you spend time to review the pro's and con's for each and work a solution that you meets the business needs. What sources of data will you ingest from your digital network and estate, how will you get that data into your SIEM; connectors, API's or proprietary. Thought needs to be put into the required output of a SIEM; dashboards for managers or executives, improve the efficiency of SOC analysts, alert on key IOC's/threats, onward processing to AI/ML engines.