Optimize IT security management and simplify compliance with SIEM tools. Your Challenge In the face of increasing regulatory pressures and headline-grabbing hacking activities, enterprises are deploying an ever increasing volume of dedicated security tools. As a result they are drowning in log and alert data to the point where the tools inhibit their own value. Implementing SIEM allows enterprises to manage and respond to an ever-widening range of threats and compliance requirements by consolidating, aggregating, correlating, and reporting on security events. Taking action based on correlated data is accelerated, and detailed reporting supports obligations to demonstrate the specific measures the enterprise is taking to be compliant. Getting a strong product evaluation allows organizations to enhance enterprise security at a manageable cost. Making the wrong choice could mean higher costs, lower security, or both. Our Advice Critical Insight The SIEM market is undergoing rapid developments. In existence for just over a decade, the market is still maturing and product sets continue to be rationalized. Market consolidation is constantly occurring with large security vendors purchasing smaller dedicated SIEM vendors. The threat and regulatory landscape is making SIEM a more and more attractive technology for security firms and customers. Major leaps are being made in advanced capabilities as specialized correlation and analytic features are commercialized. At first glance a SIEM may cause a panic attack. It will highlight various threats, risks, and vulnerabilities you may have not known about. Stay calm and realize the technology is providing a greater visibility into your organization’s security standing. Various deployment and management options are making SIEM technology available to all levels of security organizations. Near full out-of-the-box solutions are being used by smaller organizations. Managed security service provider (MSSP) offerings are appearing, and can reduce the ongoing costs to a manageable level. High-demand organizations are using SIEM to augment their security operations command with as many as five full-time equivalents (FTEs) monitoring and managing the system to responds to threats in real time. Impact and Result Understand what’s new in the SIEM market and where it’s heading. Develop a strong understanding of the top SIEM vendors and their offerings to identify a best-fit product for your organization. Cultivate vendor management tactics through a tailored request for proposal and a demo script in order to get the features and functionality you need for either security management, compliance adherence, or overall risk reduction.

1. Originally basic log centralization was created due to a need for central review capabilities. Regulatory and compliance
requirements began to take effect requiring certain controls to be part of an organization’s information security.
SIEM grew from the conjoining of Security Event Management and Security Information Management (which itself grew
out of simpler Log Management).
The market soon needed increased detection capabilities. From log collection moving into SIEM functions, threat
detection and intelligence tools were developed to provide network visibility.
SIEM solutions historically focused on large, regulated enterprises. Today, vendors offer simplified, streamlined, all-in-one
solutions aimed at the SME space.
SIEM technologies are adapting to increased demand for a variety of offerings while developing better detection
capabilities in the face of targeted attacks.
Scalable management:
Organizations need to know the scalable level of SIEM they require. Less competent security organizations should adopt
full out-of-the box solutions. High security demand cases can purchase larger SIEM vendor solutions that are often a
component of larger security suites offering operations management, analytics, and incident management.
Powerful analytic tools:
As targeted attacks and persistent adversaries advance, advanced correlation capabilities and the ability to detect
suspicious activity from less data and varied data becomes more important.
Data sources:
An SIEM needs as many sources as possible. Long-term data event and context retention with analytics, in addition to
threat intelligence feeds, can provide a differentiating factor over standard log collection.