Why the Modern SIEM Is in the Cloud

Last updated at Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:16:32 GMT

Security vendors are continuing their move to the cloud, and there’s an array of cloud-based log management products and security programs to choose from. And as the world is introduced to modern SIEM—which is finally enabled for cloud migration—informed consumers may be wondering what distinguishes cloud-native SIEM from its predecessors.

Below, we discuss the core benefits of cloud-native SIEM solutions.

Moving beyond context and compliance

Traditional SIEM proved foundational for security professionals looking to achieve two central goals: context and compliance.

Though older SIEM solutions provided context for triggered alarms, the up-front configuration costs demanded large security teams—as did continued maintenance and fine-tuning. And though previous SIEMs helped log access data while monitoring file integrity and events, extensive on-ramping delayed time to launch. Deployment meant investing undue time in establishing detection rules to adequately filter the noise. Historically these challenges resulted in security headaches and valuable wasted resources, not to mention diminished ROI.

Cloud-native options, such as Rapid7’s InsightIDR, are here to change that.

Unifying data for more comprehensive support

The typical modern network collects logs and events from hundreds of sources, endpoints, cloud services, and hosting platforms. To optimize monitoring, security professionals need to streamline all their data for a comprehensive outlook. This will not only translate to improved visualization, but will also enable you to monitor alerts across systems and better stay on top of potential threats.

Previously, SIEMs relied on on-premise deployments to help achieve a unified overview. This meant hardware upgrades, data parsing, and scaling issues in turn demanded continual tuning to reach peak performance.

Our verdict? Try one of the cloud-native SIEM tools quickly gaining market share instead. Modern SIEM tools focus on native ingestion support for cloud hosting providers (like Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud). They also gather endpoint data, such as parent/child processes, into the flow to offer nuanced detection support—essential to compliance.

Staying ahead of threats and anticipating data breaches

Phishing and malware still top the list of concerns for security professionals, and for good reason. The 2020 Verizon Data Breach Report continues to show attackers relying on the same attack vectors. This isn’t a glitch in the system—attackers don’t need to change their tune because they’re continuing to find success with the tried-and-true.

But while attack vectors haven’t changed, attackers have become more sophisticated in their approach. To stay ahead of modern attackers, information alone isn’t sufficient. Savvy security professionals are investigating root causes to identify and stop key security issues ranging from lateral movement to credential theft.

With access to disparate data and analytics to anticipate and flag anomalous behavior, SIEM tools help shield system integrity while exposing attacker behavior. Out-of-the-box readiness reveals malicious activity from day one, and the option to custom-build content as needed. Attack simulations and penetration tests provide additional information and can bridge gaps in detection down the line.

Cloud architecture to trigger automatic responses

They say attacks are measured in minutes and remediation in months, but SIEM’s cloud architecture exists to supply you with information to correlate your threat response, faster. This happens in part through enhanced user behavior analytics, which can reveal relationships between IP addresses, assets, and user accounts. From there, you can automate workflows to speed up and redress investigation findings.

Automation also saves security from painstaking repetitive tasks. An undoubted boon to security teams, machine intelligence takes on the lion’s share of alert volumes, from phishing triage to automated communications. Overtaxed professionals are free to devote their resources to threat hunting, attack simulations, and holistic systemic revisions to their security posture.

At Rapid7, we’ve long approached SIEM with the cloud in mind. Check out our eBook: Finding Value with a Cloud SIEM and learn how you can assess and remediate environmental threats within hours, not months with InsightIDR.