Security Analytics: Developing a Data-Driven Security Strategy for your Organization
With the risk of cyber-attacks becoming higher than ever, IT organizations are struggling to develop robust security programs without a proper data-driven approach.
That’s where security analytics kick in. Security analytics supports informed decision-making by considering the organization’s historical cyber threat and incident response data.
But what is security analytics and why does it matter? Continue reading to find out more.
What is Security Analytics?
Security analytics combines algorithms, software, and analytic processes to identify possible cyber threats. With the fast-paced development of malware, security analytics technologies have become more important than ever.
What are the Benefits of Security Analytics?
Some of the benefits of security analytics include:
- Being able to analyze diverse and large amounts of information at the same time improves accuracy, reduces response times, and enables proactive security incident detection.
- Meeting compliance requirements, such as PCI-DSS and HIPAA, is easier with security analytics as organizations are able to log data and monitor activity more efficiently.
The Security Operations Maturity Model
The security maturity model defines the capability and progression of an organization’s cyber security program. It’s based on developing repeatable and continuously improving processes.
Security analytics allow organizations to improve their security measures and adopt a proactive data protection approach that’s gradually enhanced.
Top Rated Security Analytics Products
Some of the most reputable security analytics are:
- LogRhythm NextGen SIEM Platform
- Splunk SIEM software
- Logz.io Cloud-based SIEM
- Sumo Logic Log analysis software
When choosing a security analytics solution, consider the tool’s capability to source data collection from the IT system.
You should also consider the following factors:
- Does the platform possess advanced machine-learning capabilities?
- Detection strategies to spot zero-day threats.
- Alerts for possible security threats.
- Identify how each solution can help you meet compliance standards.
- Consider the deployment method (on-premises, managed service, or cloud).
- How easy is it to integrate the solution into your existing systems?
- What are the pricing options and are they suitable for your organization?
You might also consider trying the tool’s free demo or trial.
How is Security Analytics Different from SIEM?
The differences between security analytics and SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) can be summarized in the following points:
- Security data is more manageable with security analytics platforms than with SIEM tools.
- Legacy rule and signature-based preventative methods were found to be obsolete in comparison to advanced analytics.
- SIEM is often concerned with the perimeter of the network, while security analytics provides an in-depth look at the overall security state.
- Security analytics integrates machine-learning algorithms and analysis techniques that weren’t available when SIEM tools were developed.
How does Security Analytics Work?
Security analytics collects and uses data from multiple sources to identify patterns, anomalies, and correlations. These sources may include workstation alerts, server logs, intelligence feeds, sensors, and mobile devices.
The security analytics tools utilize artificial intelligence, machine learning, and statistical analysis techniques, as well as conventional rules-based methods to analyze security data and support a company’s decision-making regarding security strategy.
Typically, a security analytics platform incorporates the following components:
1- Network analysis and visibility (NAV):
Includes traffic analysis across networks.
2- Behavioral analytics:
Analyzes the abnormal behavior of apps to identify a possible threat.
3- External threat intelligence:
For tracking and monitoring that may be related to ransomware.
4- Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR):
Orchestrates communication across the analysis engine, data gathering, and threat response apps for analytical purposes.
5- Forensics:
For identifying vulnerabilities from historical attacks.
What are the Upcoming Opportunities in Security Analytics?
Security analytics is evolving into full-fledged platforms capable of providing incident response tactics, end-to-end monitoring, vulnerability and threat management, risk governance, and SOC recovery capabilities.
These platforms can be described as complete Security Analytics and Operations Management (SAOM) solutions.
How Meaningful Security Analytics is Shifting
Traditional security practices are no longer enough, considering that cyber threats have matured significantly in recent years and they continue to improve.
This means that the only way to keep pace with cyber attackers is to utilize AI-powered security analytics solutions. Larger volumes of data provide a larger attack surface for cyber threats, and the only way to protect it is to deploy AI/ML security analytics solutions that facilitate decision-making.
They’re used to identify your organization’s “normal” and predict attacks before they happen with a proactive approach.
Security Analytics Use Cases
Some of the most common security analytics use cases include:
- Analyzing network traffic analysis and pattern detection
- Threat and data exfiltration detection
- User behavior monitoring
- Employee monitoring
- Detecting malicious user account usage
- Compliance demonstration
- Security incident investigation
What are the Challenges of Security Analytics?
Some of the current challenges of security analytics are:
- Lack of IT and data science talents.
- Inability to fully extract actionable intelligence insights from security analytics reports.
- Large volumes of data required for security analytics mean that the data is prone to theft, deletion, or encryption.
How much do Security Analytics Platforms Cost?
The cost of implementing a security analytics solution varies depending on how much data you need to handle. When you contact a solution provider, they’ll discuss your requirements and provide you with a quote that matches your needs. Regardless of the cost, the ROI of using a security analytics platform is worth it.
What does a Security Analytics Platform Do?
A security analytics platform analyzes security data and generates useful insights that can be used to combat confirmed or potential cyber threats.
Conclusion
To recap, security analytics is the way organizations can prepare for threats and improve their incident response time.
At CyberTalents, we help organizations implement and improve their security analytics efforts with expert consultations and a wide array of cybersecurity services. Contact us now to learn more!
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